My Guardian Angel
by L.S. Monroe
Summary: Luke has had many strange and unexplainable dreams of a boy with blonde hair and violet eyes. Every time he dreams about that boy, he sees him in the eyes of a girl that closely resembles his twin sister, Lucinda. On the first day of his Junior year in High School, all he wants to do is forget about the dreams and look on to his future. But should he really ignore those dreams?
1. Chapter 1

I DO NOT own the story to Fallen or any of the characters except for the ones that are not found in the original book series that are in this FanFiction.

ENJOY!

* * *

In The Beginning

London, April 1854

_As I gaze out upon the water, I see the sun begin to rise over the calm waves below the bridge. The stone of bridge is cool to the touch as I rest my hand against the edge, but slowly begins to warm with the oncoming rays of the rising sun. This is where _he_ said we would meet. This was always where we would meet. I look back at the towers of London that pierce the twilight sky, six o' clock, shows the Westminister tower. _

_Both of our families have had great conflicts for many generations based upon who is of more wealth. __The two of us just being near arms length would send them into entropy. But this long lived hatred between our two families would not prevent the love that we so passionately shared, come to a tragic halt. As the time passes by slowly, I can feel the sun's rays brighten the white dress that I am wearing, and caress my cheeks with its warmth and trail slowly up my arms, _just the way his touch is to me.

_A soft breeze passes by that gracefully catches my hair. I have let it down from its braid that my mother would always tie up for me, and now cascades in thick waves down to my waist. He had always love it when I would wear my hair down, to gently run his fingers through. The black of my hair had made the paleness of his hands look so beautiful he almost resembled a statue. _A statue of an angel.

_I am drawn back to my senses as the sound of a couple silently laughing pass by on the bridge, walking hand in hand so close to one another. The way the woman had leaned into the man's shoulder was so familiar that neither one of them had seemed to worry about what others would think of them. One day I hope that_ he_ and_ I _can be this way in a world where we can love and cherish one another in peace, without the worry of something preventing us from being together._

_In the middle of that thought, I feel strong arms wrap around me in a warm embrace. My heart beats an infinity in just one minute as I feel the warmth given off on his thick muscled chest against my back. I have only ever seen him bare chested very few times since we had began seeing each other in silence years ago. _

_He would be swimming in the small lake near our home town and I would see him as I sat atop a hill while reading a book, and when he would draw water from his family well or be cutting wood for fire as I'd see him from the window of my music room while I played my piano. __However, when I do get the chance to see, I savor every inch of his gorgeous body, of every muscle that protrudes from his chest and arms as if I will only witness it only once in my entire life time. _

_I never have to wonder if he is the one that is touching me when he make theses sudden appearances, because his touch is the only thing that can make my heart leap off of the edge into a sea of infinite love and passion. __I step forward slightly to turn around and face him, to take in all of his features. His golden blonde hair brightens as the sun peeks closer to the horizon of the city. His skin tone has become more rich and tanned that I can see that he has been in the sun more often. We have not had a meeting like this one in almost a whole month and I miss the feeling of being this close to him, and feeling so safe in his embrace. _

_I look up and gaze into his eyes. I am barely up to his shoulders, but even from this distance those wondrous violet colored eyes of his are so grand I feel that they might be a portal that will take me away. Away into a heavenly realm, for just the two of us._

_He slowly raises his hand and caresses it against my cheek._

_"Lucinda." He whispers, in that soft but deep voice of his._

_"Daniel." I say back to him._


	2. Chapter 2

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

* * *

One: Remember

Savannah, Georgia; August 14, 2009

I was startled awake and out of breath. _Another dream._

For the past couple of months since my seventeenth birthday I had been having unexplainable dreams. They were all very different, but somehow relate to one another. And they weren't _bad_ dreams, in fact they were actually very pleasant. I saw the same boy and girl in them every time, and they all ended ambiguously happy. But one thing I couldn't really understand is why I am seeing the boy with golden blonde hair through the girl's eyes. What was even more strange was that girl in my dreams looked almost like my sister.

The dreams usually came a night or two a week, but recently I had been having them much more often that I'm beginning to wonder if they really mean something. I looked up on the internet to see if I could somehow interpret them, but none of the answers I've found have been in the least bit helpful.

Massaging my eyes, I sat up in my bed and glance around my room. I see my sister's room light on outside my door, revealing that she has already been up. Lucinda is my fraternal twin sister. When we were born I was about a pound heavier than her and an inch longer. Ever since we had grown up together I have always been bigger and taller. I stand at almost 5 foot 10 inches and she is barely 5 foot 4.

As most older brothers should be obligated to do, I had always looked out for my little sister. We would hold hands every day when we walked to elementary school together, up until the fifth grade when she like most younger siblings say that "they're too old for that". It took time to get used to that because I was slowly beginning to feel that she no longer needed me anymore the way she had use to.

I slowly got out of bed and walked into our hallway. I paused by her room and saw that she had already decided what she will wear to school. A thin black ankle length dress and her converse, when normally she would wear skinny jeans and an old band T-shirt. She had a very good taste in fashion, where as some of the girls at our school would wear shorts that were so high that they were practically begging to be knocked up.

Today was the beginning of our Junior year of High School and the classes this year are much easier than the ones from previous years. We both had maintained an average GPA of above a 3.5 so we did't have to worry about getting into a good college. Even with our extracurricular activities we had better chances too. We sang in our school choir and played in our school's advanced band. We both played the piano, harp, and violin. But I personally preferred piano and harp and she prefered the violin. But we both shared a tremendous amount of love for music.

One good thing about High School is that you can spend all of it with friends. The summer seemed so long without the company of most of them because they had gone out of state for their vacation. We visited our grandparents from our mother's side who live about an hour away from Savannah and stayed with them for just a few days. Then we had gone to visit our grandparents from our father's side who live just out of town and were always so happy to see us but sad at the memories that came with us. We stayed with them for over a week.

I walked into my sister's room and she turned around in her desk to face me with a book in her hand, our copy of _The Lovely Bones. _Almost every morning she would flip through the pages and read a page or three, and sometimes I would too. When she saw me, her hazel eyes brightened up and she smiled, and I smiled back at her.

"Morning Luke," she said, standing up and holding out her arms to give me a good morning hug.

"Morning Lucie," I said, while walking into her arms and giving her a hug. She moved her head to the side so she could rest it against my chest because how taller I am than her. Then suddenly she cringed away from me.

"You smell like a dog," she said while giggling.

I laughed at her comment smiling. "The perks to having a brother who doesn't care about poor hygiene," I said while still hugging her.

I looked behind her and see that _The Lovely Bones_ rests on her desk.

We had always loved that book because it had symbolized a part of what our own family had faced. When were both 11 years old our father had died of cancer. Our mother miraculously did not ignore the fact that me and my sister were still alive, but she did go through a large amount of depression. But she dedicated herself into getting help, and had gone to therapy and support groups that eventually made things more bearable and got her back on her feet.

My sister and I however, took the events of that day more seriously. Every night since that day for the past few months we would cry ourselves to sleep, and she would crawl into my bed to seek any ounce of comfort from me that she could find, and I would too.

But all of that changed when one day my mother took me to the library. She had told me that reading was one of the best ways to escape, and not focus so much on our own lives. I had gotten bored just browsing the shelves trying to find a world that could separate me from the one that I was tired of living in now, that I had asked the librarian if there was a book that could help me with my current situation.

She had apologized for my loss, but happily showed me a few books to me on the counter. The one that stood out to me was _The Lovely Bones._ It somehow reminded me of my father. The title had made me think that the remains of what used to be a living being could still be beautiful, because they were proof that someone was here and that someone was loved.

I had checked it out and began reading it at home. The book is about a girl who was murdered in 1973 by a man in her neighborhood, and she had watched over her family from her own personal heaven as they mourned her death. It had given me a great source of comfort because I thought that _my_ father could be watching over us from his own heaven, and eventually his death no longer seemed to hurt me the way it did before.

I had finished the book in two days and loved it with all of my broken but repaired heart. The day I had finished it, I immediately recommended that Lucinda should read it because it had helped me with dad's death, and she carefully took it from my hands. Three days later she had silently walked into my room with the book in her hands. I turned around to see her while I was looking through our bookshelf, and she ran across my room and wrapped her arms around me and began sobbing in my chest. Immediately I began to think that I had made things worse for her, but when she raised her face to me she was smiling with tears in her eyes.

_"Thank you,"_ She had said, smiling with tears running down her cheeks.

_"You're welcome,"_ I had said back, whipping some of her tears away and returning her hug.

From that point on things had finally become better for the both of us. Every time we'd visit our father's grave we would wear smiles on our faces because we believe that he is in a better place now and still watching over us.

* * *

Sword and Cross is only a seven minute walk from where we live at our apartment. We had originally lived in a big house before our dad died, but afterwards mom wanted to move somewhere else to take her mind off of things, and because of funeral mortgage. Me and Lucie didn't really mind, we both thought that we could use a change of space.

We ended up finding a three bedroom apartment for less than half the price of our old residence, and our wing was on the third floor with a gorgeous view of Savannah. The sunset and sunrise was so vivid from our patio, it appeared as if the sun only rose and set to see us in the morning and to say goodbye at night.

Savanah's a very quiet town, but attracts many tourists because of how long its been in Georgia making it a monument of American history. Our town being nearly four centuries old makes it give off an old and ancient aura that me and Lucie really love. We both love the old modern style to some of the buildings that have statues of angels and gargoyles on them, and how almost every tomb stone in the town cemetery has their own unique design. Even our father's.

Lucie always likes to leave the house an hour before school starts so that we can walk through the towns park. I'll admit that I like walking through it as well. The park is not very large itself. You could actually walk right through it in about 5 minutes, but me and Lucie always like taking our time, looking at bright green grass areas and all of the tall trees that outstretch over the pathway making a grand hallway of intertwined branches.

A fresh and cool breeze passes us and runs its delicate fingers through my hair. S_omehow this feeling seems familiar. _This summer I had ditched my shaggy skater boy hair and went with an under cut, the sides of my hair are very short and the top is a few inches long but still reveals the natural waves of my hair. Thanks to this hair cut I can feel more of the breeze as it flows through my scalp. The breeze caries with it a natural sent of lavender.

I look to my left and see my sister's long black wavy hair that falls to her waist dance in the oncoming wind. She raises her face to the wind smiling, and breaths in the fresh aroma. Our jet black hair is just one of many things we have in common. We both have pale skin, hazel eyes, lips that have a natural shade of red, and a similar facial structure that most people can't really notice at a distance.

We had inherited all of these traits from our father, the only physical things we have left of him. It seems really pleasant to have these traits with us, because unlike material objects; our pale skin, hazel eyes, black hair, and red lips will die along with us.

"It'll be nice wont it," Lucie said. It seems as if she had read my mind. "To see everyone after all the long weeks of summer vacation without them."

"Oh, yeah," I replied, looking down at the smooth path and the near exit of the park just another 2 minutes away.

"Has Jack called or text you at all during the summer?" Lucie asked in a concerned tone. "You've never really talked about him that much."

"Uh, yeah, he's called a couple times a week," I managed to say, trying to look away from her to avoid my worried expression, but she's always been able to tell if something was bothering me even when I'd do my best to hide it.

It's not really true. Jack had actually texted me almost every week and I had only responded to him a few times.

Jack and I have been best friends since the seventh grade. We had actually met in our middle school's music room when I was playing the grand piano they had in the practice room. I was lost in the music playing _River Flows In You_, when I heard him speak after I had lifted my foot off of the pedal.

_"That was beautiful," _he said in a quiet voice that still surprised me. I didn't even notice anyone had walked into the room.

When I had turned around, I saw a tall boy with tanned skin, light brown hair and green eyes. He was holding a guitar by the neck, and came up to me and Introduced himself.

_"Name's Jack," _he said, with a warm smile on his face holding out his right hand.

I stood up from the piano stool, only to see that he was a whole head taller than me. I held my pale right hand with a shy look on my face.

_"Luke," _I said, and took his hand. Then he had brought my hand closer to him, and studied it as if it were a lost artifact.

_"You have very beautiful_ hands," he had, said while gently running his thumb over the back of my hand.

I immediately took my hand back. _"What's that suppose to mean!?" _I had said, slightly embarrassed by his compliment.

_"Nothing," _he answered back, looking a bit surprised, _"just that you have beautiful hands, and I like hearing you play."_

_"Oh," _I said, still looking a little nervous. Not really what I would have expected as a first impression from a guy that towers over me, and one that looks like a rock star that girls would be drooling over.

From that moment on me and Jack had become really good friends, and we would spend every day in the practice room at lunch and even sometimes after school. I would be on the piano playing _Yiruma _and he'd be on his guitar playing _FM Static_.

"Did something happen before break?" Lucie asked looking slightly worried, bringing me back to reality.

"How's Emily been?" I said, trying to change the subject.

"She went to visit her relatives in Missouri, but Luke-"

"Don't worry Lucie," I said to her trying my best to show a real smile. "He's just been really busy over the summer looking for a job and making college plans"

" Luke," Lucie said with a suspicious look on her face, "he already works at the guitar store right next to the library, and we're barely starting our Junior year of High School today. Are you sure everything's alright?"

"Trust me Lucie," I tried to reassure her, "Everything's alright."

"Alright," she said while having a noticeable grin on her face.

"What are you smiling for?" I asked her accusingly.

"Oh, nothing," she said smiling towards me now, "just thinking that something juicy happened between the two of you, and that you're too embarrassed to say what it is."

My face immediately turned red. What on earth could she possibly think that happened between the two of us?! A one night stand?!

"What makes you think that?" I said in a voice that nearly gives her the answer.

"One," she began, "your face is completely red, and two, the tone of your voice practically blurts out the answer."

"Believe me when I say I'm telling the truth, nothing happened before break," I said in a serious tone.

"Ooookay," she said, her smile disappeared and she went back into enjoying the feeling of nature.

We've reached the end of the path and now start on the street that will take us to our school. We first cross the intersection of Sword Road and Night street to get onto Cross, which our school is just located around the corner. I can see the tall building of our school that has the cross on its pointed roof. At a farther distance it could almost be mistaken for a church but soon, the bold printed letters on the large stoned plate attached to the school gate will read: _Sword and Cross High School._

Our school had originally been a Catholic school, but due to the increase of divers ethnicities and religions the school decided that they teach regular subjects and non-religious teachings.

We enter the gates that lead into the campus followed by other students, but none that we recognize as any of our friends. The school looks more like a smaller gothic version of Hogwarts, with its tall buildings of modern stone carvings with statues of angels on every building and even some in the school courtyard.

We stop in one of the hallways in the courtyard, and take in the fresh air of a new school year.

* * *

We walked into the center of the courtyard in our school, along one of the stone pathways. We approach the fountain with the human sized angel that hides its face inside of its hands. Water pours from where its feet lay as if it has cried all the water into where the it lies at the very bottom. Me and Lucie always liked looking at it, and wondering why something so divine would be crying and wanting to hide its identity.

Sword and Cross is not a very large campus itself. There are only three buildings and one of them is two stories high. Plus there is less than 500 students in all grade levels combined.

I look up at clouds above us and see that they are a dark shade of grey. It's been cloudy for quite sometime even though its barely the middle of August. Weather repots say that the highest today will be 72 degrees. Summer hardly lasts here in Georgia, and winter is usually here for the majority of the year. Lucie and I don't really mind though, we love cold weather.

I glance around the courtyard to see if any of our friends have made it here yet, but still I hardly see that many students here. Most of the students are wearing loose jeans and sweaters because in the morning it gets pretty cool, but latter warms up during the day. My sister's black dress covers her legs and arms, and she hardly notices the cool temperature. I'm wearing all black as well, black jeans, converse, and a button long sleeve T-shirt with the first two of the three buttons undone.

"Where do you suppose everyone is?" I asked Lucie, still making short glances to see if any one of our friends are here yet. Especially Jack.

"Probably on their way here right now," she responded.

I look at one of the towers of our school, the one that shows the clock. Its almost six o' clock. _That... feels so familiar too._

Our school starts very early in the morning at 6:45 A.M., but ends just a little after noon at 12:44 P.M, so its not too big of hassle. We had also left the apartment a little earlier than when we usually do.

From the corner of my eye, I can see the sun peeking through grey clouds. Its rays shining through a small fracture and barely rising over the horizon. The rays illuminate the roofs of the school, sharpening their pointed roofs making them look as if they're piercing through the grey clouds. It looks almost like the Westminister building in London. _I swear that I have seen this from somewhere before._

My thoughts kept being drawn back to the dreams I've had over the summer. Every time I had a new one, the previous one I had before just seemed to slip away. But the one I had this morning I can still recall some small fragments. _I was standing on a bridge just outside of London waiting for someone. I looked at a tower that had a clock on it and notice the sun peeking over the horizon lighting up the city with a natural life bringing light. There was a couple that was walking by me holding hands and I wanted to be that way with the person who I was waiting for. And then..._

Right in the middle of trying remember the dream, I feel strong arms wrap around me from behind in a warm embrace. My heart automatically begins to beat faster, as if trying to count to infinity. _Yes... I remember this._

I am slightly released from the embrace but hands still rest on my shoulders. I slowly turn around, and look into the most pure color of green eyes. They look almost as if they are home to the most undiscovered, yet most beautiful creatures that could ever live in this world. B_ut _his_ eyes were not that color._

He looks back at me with the same lost look in his eyes that I have, almost as if he's trying to find me inside of them. He then raises his hand and caresses it against my cheek. _I remember now._

"Lucian," he said, with his soft but deep voice.

_Daniel..._

"Jack," I said back to him.


	3. Chapter 3

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

* * *

Two: Contemplate

The reason why I had no communication with Jack over the summer so often, was because I had thought that the dreams I'd been having might have been directed to him. No one had ever made such gestures to me like the boy in those dreams did as Jack had. I slowly began to think that that boy could have been _him_, and that maybe my feelings towards Jack could be branching out into something more.

Jack was a very open homosexual and didn't care what other people thought of him. He had actually came out to me about one week after we met. Of course, seeing a very tall broad shouldered guy that all the girls in school would be falling head over heels for, that was pretty much the last thing I would have expected from him. But in the end, Jack being gay had no change as to how I felt about him. He was a very good person and a really great friend who encouraged me into pursuing my passion for music even further.

I however, had never really given much thought as to what my own sexual orientation was, mainly because I had seen no point into one. People who really love each other don't focus specifically on gender. What they really do love about each other, is who they are as human beings. That, and because I had seen beauty in both genders, and didn't really understand the reason to dedicating yourself to just one of them.

I'd never really believed in _love_. I had seen many relationships die in real life that I'd begun to lose faith in it. Jack had even dated a guy named Richard last year, but broke up with him because of an incident with a _girl._ She was one year older than Richard, and Jack had seen both of them in the back seat of a car, that was probably broken into.

Although I had such mixed feelings about love, I had read so many books about it. How it works, how it doesn't work, how it falls apart, and how it repairs itself. But _this_. Being right here with Jack, feels as if it could be the closest thing to love I might ever be able to find in this life time.

I immediately wrap my arms around him in a tight embrace.

Because of how much taller he is than me, my arms reach right underneath his armpits and my forehead barely reaches to his chin. He's probably grown another inch over the summer, making him about 6 foot 3 inches.

I inhale his sent that I've become so accustomed to; the sweet essence of his aftershave and the spice of his cologne. He wears his regular black leather jacket over a Red Jumpsuit Apparatus band T-shirt, torn jeans, and black converse; a style that's become a trade mark for him. I seek the warmth that he's always seem to naturally give off whenever he would give me an embrace like this one. I can feel that the muscles in his chest and arms have gotten larger, meaning that he's probably had more time to go to the gym and put on more muscle weight. It begins to feel like I haven't had any of these mementos of him for an eternity. His very presence makes want more of him, to be completely intoxicated by the feeling of being this close to him, for him to feel the same way about me that I do.

Jack, as if having some sense in how I'm feeling, returns my embrace. His hold on me feels so strong and comforting that all my worries of whether or not he will love me back are deceased. The moment after he returns my embrace I finally speak.

"It's _you_."

"What do you mean?" he said, sounding a bit confused. "Of course It's me."

I looked up to him and see that he wears his usual warm smile. He'd also cut his light brown wavy hair in a more manageable style, when they would previously dance gracefully in the smallest breeze defying almost every law of gravity. Yet only more things I have missed seeing after all of these past couple of months.

"Guess you missed me a lot more than I had thought," he said.

"I'm really sorry," I said back to him, "There's just been a lot going on..." I slowly backed away, looking down at the stone tiles around the fountain.

"Hey," Jack said, bringing my face up to him with his index finger.

"It's okay, I'm just glad you're not mad at me or anything. You're not mad at me right?" He gives a small pout that's too hard not to smile at.

"No, no," I said to him convincingly.

"Good," he said while still smiling, and wraps his arms around me one more time.

"No love for me?" Lucie asked in a sad tone. I had completely forgotten that she was right behind me.

"Aww, Lucie," Jack said, while releasing me and stepping towards her, "I missed you too little Snow White." He brings her into a warm embrace like the one he'd given me, after I'd told him I wasn't mad at him. The one he had first given me I'd like to think of as special, one that he'd only ever give to me.

"You've grown your hair out," he said to her, lifting one of her dark waves that falls back down bellow her waist.

Before the summer, Lucie's hair had barely fell to her stomach region. Within just a few months it grew well over 4 inches longer.

"And _you_," Jack said, looking at me with an angry look in his eyes, "What happened to _your _beautiful wavy locks?"

"I cut them off, because they were annoying," I answered him.

"Awww," he said, looking down with a sad face. Then he steps back to me and runs his warm fingers gently through the top of my hair where it's longest. "I still like it," he says smiling at me.

Then he leaned his face closer to me and whispered in my ear. "Can we talk later, after school?"

I looked at him feeling a bit worried and nod. He probably wants to know the truth as to why I hardly communicated with him at all over summer. How exactly am I going to explain everything to him? I can't just tell him that I've been having really weird dreams since my seventeenth birthday about a boy and girl over and over again. And that it my feelings towards him are somehow becoming intensified.

Jack and I have always had a very close relationship. We were almost like brothers, and I had loved that feeling so much. When we would be watching TV on the couch at home , he would put his arm over my shoulder and let me rest my head against his chest. And when we would stay the night over at each other's house, he wouldn't mind sharing a bed and every morning I would wake up with an arm wrapped protectively around me. But this feeling that I have for him right now just feels so strong, that I can't help but wonder if maybe he will not feel the same way that I do for him.

"Have you seen Emily yet?" Lucie asked, breaking the silence and smiling at Jack. Emily had been Lucie's best friend since the second grade. They had shared so many things in common with one another that they eventually called themselves sisters. Seeing the two of them together, you would automatically assume that they were because of how familiar they'd be with one another.

"I thought I saw her walking here, she should be here soon," Jack responded.

A girl in a white dress walking inside the school gates catches my eyes. From this distance she had almost looked like a ghost, coming back to the place of her death and not being able to find peace. But as I had seen long bright golden hair carried in the wind I knew it was her.

"She's right over there," I said to Lucie, directing her to wear Emily was walking towards us.

A smile quickly formed on Lucie's face as she had run to Emily giving her a hug. I could see that Emily had also grown out her hair. Lucie and Emily both had waist-length wavy hair, but Lucie had hair dark as the night and Emily had hair bright as the day. I had barely noticed that they were wearing dresses with an identical style. Growing up, the two of them would pick out similar dresses and outfits to wear at school but they always kept a unique style to each other balancing one another. Almost like they were each others polar opposite.

They were both laughing as they broke from their hug and began walking towards us. Emily had went to Missouri over the entire summer to visit many of her relatives that she said she'd not seen in many years. Lucie had understood the importance in spending as much time with good family as possible, and didn't try to convince Emily to stay. Lucie was just that much of a good friend. We too had families to visit, but Emily had a very big and happy family where as to us who had only our grand parents, some aunts and uncles who were all still recovering from our loss, but still managing to find any source of happiness in our everyday lives.

"Hey Jackie, hey Luke," Emily said in her bright but calm voice. With the sun rays shinning brighter, her golden brown eyes are more lustrous and vibrant.

She walked up to me and Jack and gives both of us a hug. She smells of flowers and jasmine, probably from her shampoo. She and Lucie hated putting products in their hair and always had worn it naturally.

"Have Charlotte and Johnny gotten here yet," she asked.

"Who knows?" Jack said sarcastically, "They're always late, even on the first day of school."

"Right," Emily said laughing under her breath. "Well, do we have any plans after school?"

"Of course _we_ do," Lucie said, stepping by Emily and locking her arm with Emily's. "You need to tell me all about your summer, it gets a little boring hanging out with so much testosterone," she looks at me and giggles. I give her a look.

"What?!" she said looking back at me, "Would it kill you to put on some deodorant once in a while?"

I laughed at her comment, which only makes Jack come cautiously close and sniff me.

"You smell like lavender" he said, giving me his warm smile.

* * *

Classes are only about 45 minutes long, and our lunch is a whole hour long. The classes as I had expected, are much easier and more manageable; meaning that this year will be a lot less stressful and that we can all spend much more time together. Freshman and Sophomore year were academic boot camps. Our school would put the most difficult and required courses first so that in our later years we would have more free time to enjoy life and start making college plans. None of us ever really talked about college that much. Savanah actually had a university that was just about a 10 minute drive from here. We all had assumed that we would be going there because it was closest to home and that the requirements were not really high to be qualified for entry.

At lunch, we had finally seen Charlotte and John for the first time in months.

Charlotte had dyed blue and purple highlights into her dirty blonde hair and had gotten a septum piercing. She wore torn jeans and an Evanescence T-shirt. Over the summer she and John had gone on tour all over Georgia with their band _Rapture_ with which Charlotte sang lead vocals for. She had a very strong grunge voice, and had looked to artists like Avril Lavigne and Paramore for inspiration in her music. They're planning on persuing their music carrier with the band right after they graduate. When they found out that they had gotten accepted as for tour dates, they were so excited to go and break away from small gigs they would play near town. The band had even sold over 75,000 copies of their debut album all across the country, over 10,000 of which were sold in Georgia alone. John was the lead guitarist in the band with Charlotte, the other band mates Cole, Sam, and Beck had gone to another school more north of Georgia.

John had gotten a different look as well, like the rest of us. He had his dark brown hair that used to fall in his face cut into a fohawk that really suited him. He had gotten a lip piercing that complimented the 4 that he already had on each of his ears. He and Charlotte had always tried to convince me and Jack to get some, but we thought that piercings wouldn't really look good on the both of us. He had worn dark skinny jeans and a tight black V-neck that exposed his pectoral and bicep muscles that were almost as large as Jacks, from what I could feel from his embrace this morning.

When school had ended, Charlotte and John had made plans to rehearse in John's garage. They said they had written a couple new songs that they wanted to see would be good on their next album that would be released the following semester. Lucie and Emily decided that they would be going to the park and catch up on one another's story for their summer. Jack and I had planned on heading back to my apartment to hang out and, _talk._

Jack and I had walked over to the student parking lot, we would be driving in his car to the few blocks back to my apartment. Mom had been saving up for a car for both me and Luce. She had realized that when we'd be off to college we would need our own way to get around town, and that we would want one car to ourselves. Jack had rolled down his window just a bit and let in a cool breeze as he drove. His light brown wavy hair still danced gracefully in the breeze.

"How's your mom been?" he asked.

"She's been alright," I said.

"How have you been?" he asked in a cautious tone.

"Okay," I tried to answer him.

"_Okay_," he repeated my answer, "Luke, is there something that you're not telling me? You know that you can tell me anything, right?" He looked at me, with a comforting smile.

"It's just..." I began, "I've been having very strange dreams lately," I said to him. He then looked at me again with a hige grin on his face, and one of his eyebrows raised. My face instantly turns red from how my answer probably sounded to him.

"NOT THOSE TYPES OF DREAMS!" I yelled at him, punching him in the arm. He immediately bursts out laughing, losing his breath in just a few seconds.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, finally catching his breath, "but the dreams? What type of dreams are they exactly?"

"Romantic, I guess," I answered.

"What, happens in them?"

"I see a boy and a girl, and they're in love. But the thing is, I've been dreaming about them multiple times. I looked up on the internet, and many people say that it's almost impossible to have the same dream twice. Lightning striking the same place again is more likely to happen than having the same dream."

We pulled up to the parking lot of my apartment, and he takes the keys out of the ignition.

"Explain more once we get inside," he said to me.

We walk into the building and go down the main hallway with dark carpeting on the floor. We reach the lobby and head towards the elevator and I press the button to the third floor. Before I know it, my heart begins to beat a little faster. I am about to confess what I think my dreams could mean, and that maybe they are related to how my feelings towards Jack have changed and become more intimate.

When we reach the third floor, we make the short walk five doors down from the elevator to my wing. I unlock the door with my key and we both walk inside, with me silently closing the door after Jack is inside. I take a seat on our couch that me and Jack have shared since Jr. High, he takes off his leather jacket and hangs it on the coat rack by the door. Seeing him his band T-shirt I can now see that in fact the muscles in his arms have gotten larger, his chest is more toned, and his shoulders are more broad. He takes a seat on the couch right next to me sitting very close, and puts his arm right over my shoulder.

"So, you were saying about the dreams," he said casually. I've forgotten right now that he's become so accustomed to this gesture, that it probably feels normal to him. I continue, being sure to be as explicit as possible.

"When the dreams end..." I began, "They all end ambiguously happy, and by that I don't really know what happens after that, I mean I know that the boy and girl are happy. But the main important part is that, when I'm dreaming... I see them through _her_ eyes."

Jack looks more closely at me, but not as if I'm crazy. I knew that he would at least listen to me about the dreams. Now, to get to the really difficult part.

"And the boy..." I said, sounding as if I'm losing my breath, but really it's because of how fast my heart beat is. "When he makes all of these gestures towards me-_her_-, there's no one else I can think of who would make those kinds of gestures, other than _you Jack_."

His eyes widen a bit. That's when I choose to look away from him.

"What... What exactly are you saying?.." He asked softly, "Luke, please, look at me." He draws my face towards him with his hand softly against my cheek. That's when I use his one gesture to clarify my explanation. I pick up my hand and rest it atop his own, by doing that I can also feel how bigger his hand is than mine.

"This," I told him, "these loving gestures that you always make towards me, are just like the ones the boy in my dream makes to the girl." I pause, preparing myself for what I am about to say next.

"Jack..." I said, while exhaling a breath of life, "I think... that I have feelings for you."

"Lucian," he said, in an almost sad tone of discovery.

He is about to say another word, but before he can speak I cut him off with what I have to say next.

"This morning," I began quickly, to make sure that he knows everything, "when you hugged me from behind, when you placed your hand on my cheek, when you spoke my name. That's exactly what happened to the girl in another dream I had, _last night_. I know that all of this seems a little too crazy and out of the ordinary. But... _this_, is my way of telling you how much I love you _now. _And, I understand... If you do not feel the same way."

Jack slowly looked away. Immediately I was frightened as to how he will react after hearing all this. I'd just confessed my feelings to him and now he can't even look at me in the eye. The silence between us carries on too much that I begin to back away from him. I begin to rise from the couch to find any place that will make this moment less difficult than it already needs to be. But before I am half way off the couch, Jack gently grabs hold of my hand, and pulls me back on the couch in a tight embrace. In that moment, I had felt a whirlwind of emotions.

I didn't know exactly what to feel because of how Jack was holding me now. Joy? Fear? Regret? Confusion? Comfort? _Love_? He had been holding me as if I had been dying while holding my last breath, that he would try to keep safe inside of me. He leans away from me now breaking the embrace, but still keeping his hands on my shoulders. I can see now that his pure green eyes are brighter than ever, as every beautiful creature inside of them sings life into my own. He then slowly raises his hand and gently places it against my cheek. The same way he had done when I first saw him in the courtyard at school.

"Lucian," he said softly, but deeply. "I have always loved you. And I always will."

_Am I dreaming? _

_Is Jack really saying these things to me? _

_What if this really is a dream, and I never woke up? _

_How do I know that this is real?_

If this really was a dream, it would have ended right when Jack had said those first five words. But I am still here, in this moment with Jack's face just inches from mine.

The second I realize that this is not a dream, is when Jack slowly presses his soft and warm lips to my own.


	4. Chapter 4

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

* * *

Three: Beloved

Helston England, September 1854

_I silently walk through the long halls of my house. This house is much larger than the one my family and I had previously lived in, miles away from this town. I had even gotten lost throughout the first few weeks living in this new residence. This mansion had once belonged to a noble man that had been my great grandfather who had passed away about a month ago. My father having gone to great lengths as to prove his lineage was derived from the noble man, had inherited this very mansion as well as a large amount of money so that he and mother could live here happily. I did not oppose as to moving homes, because I loved seeing new areas of England and really hoped to travel the rest of the world when I am older. _

_This mansion has many rooms filled with old family heirlooms that are all currently ours now. There were many dresses in a wardrobe that I had found on the third floor in a very decorative room, that probably belonged to my great grandmother. She had very exquisite taste. Most of the dresses had hand sewn flowers and vines in them like this white one that I have chosen to wear tonight. It has white flowers sew all the way to the bottom of the dress that falls about an inch or two off the ground. The flowers very closely resemble my most personal favorite, white peonies. _

_Reaching the end of the long halls I find the stairs that lead directly to the front doors. The large doors stand about two times the height of myself and have beautiful hand carved designs of angels and babies engraved on them. I try my best to open the large wooden doors without making too much noise and miraculously succeed. I step out of the polished floors of my house and onto the cold concrete floor of the front steps. Even through my flat footed cleats I could still feel the grip of the cold night grasp the bottom of my feet. _

_I carefully close the large doubled doors with them just making audible creaks that I am sure my parents cannot possibly hear from the third floor of the mansion. I look out into the night sky and see that the moon is full in its gorgeous illuminating light. The stars bring forth smaller rays of light that are a beautiful compliment to the moon's. Together they light up the pathway the leads directly to the town park in an almost grand but delicate entry. It is surprisingly not such a cold night especially now that it is nearly the end of September. I begin to walk along the pathway to the town park, guided by the stars and moon's very small but noticeable rays of light on the path. The park from where my house is located, is only about a three minute ride by carriage but I do not mind the walk. It will give me plenty of time to think about what _he _has said that he had really wanted to show me._

_A few days after my family and I had moved to Helston, I had noticed a boy that was painting right by the lake. Although I could not see his face, I knew that he had possessed beautiful features. The arch of his back was very poised as he had studied the sun setting behind the mountains creating the most lovely twilight against the oncoming grey clouds. His hands that had held the brush and ink board had a very strong and unique bone structure, he probably even plays the piano like I do. But the moment after he had turned around to face me, his beauty was far beyond what I had composed. As I had taken in and deeply admired his fair golden hair and wondrous violet colored eyes, I had worried at how long he was gazing back at me. The sun was almost set and he wouldn't be able to finish the heavenly realm that he had painted on his canvas. But as he had looked back at me, the look in his eyes had seemed as if he found something far more precious to paint on a canvas._

_The next day I had brought a book to read under a tree that was in our large front yard, and a sudden shadow had blocked the sun rays from casting a natural light on the faded pages. when I had looked up I realized that it was him again, but this time I had been looking at him from a much closer distance and his features were much stronger and those eyes of his more wondrous. That was when he had formally introduced himself. He had told me that his name was Daniel, and that he had actually lived with a few of his relatives in the other large house that was across from my own. He also told me that he had hoped to see me again, and that we should spend some time together in town. When he had spoken, his voice was so soft yet so strong and deep that if he would have sung, angels would have descended from the heavens just to hear his soulful and captivating voice._

_We had began seeing each other more often in the passing weeks, and eventually our emotions towards one another had blossomed into an even more passionate flower than a red rose in the spring. One afternoon he had taken me to the gazebo that is at the far end of town with the most beautiful view of the lake. When twilight had come and the sun had shown its last full rays, he had told me that he loved me. He had gently placed his hand against my cheek and looked into my eyes with those ominous yet beautiful violet ones of his. He had slowly brought his face closer to mine, and then placed his soft and warm lips to my own and we had shared our first kiss._

_I can see brighter lights in the near distance given off by the small town shops that are always open even until midnight. That is right when I see Daniel. He is standing right in the gazebo where we had shared our most precious moment together. The gazebo is surrounded by a beautiful array of lamps and candle that shine brighter than the stars above me. He wears a very expensive and handsome suit that strengthen all of his features. His golden hair looks more silken, his eyes look more mysterious, his facial structure more angelic, and his shoulders more broad. _

_"You look absolutely beautiful this fine evening, would you care for a dance my lady," he says in that deep beautiful voice of his holding out a strong hand to me._

_"Why thank you very much kind sir, and yes I would very much love a dance," I say back to him while giving a small curtsey._

_About a minute after we begin to dance, I hear a chorus of violins and a cello. I look over just outside of the gazebo and see that two violinists and a cellist are seated playing a piece that is as soft and delicate as the calm waves of the lake. The moon is just above the water's surface and casts a breathtaking reflection. Something like this would have appeared to me as a dream before I had even met Daniel, but I am still here with him. We had dance for what had seemed like an eternity and then the music started to become slower and more settle, I could tell that it was reaching its end. The last note that is played is so high and longing, that its sorrow feels as though it could transcend even the most vile of curses inflicted on those who are so innocent. One tear from my eyes follows that note into its end, only to be caught and wiped away by Daniel's hand before it can fall._

_"Did you not like it?" he says in a sad tone._

_"No," I answer him back, trying to control my emotions that threaten to break free. "I... I love it." I smile at him._

_"You do?" he asks, "Then why are you crying?" He gives a small but sad smile back to me._

_"Because it was so beautiful, so beautiful that there are no words in existence to describe just how much it was," I reassure him, "Did you write that?" I say to him in amassment._

_"I had began writing it the day after I first laid eyes on you," he says to me. "Not once in my entire life have I ever witnessed something so pure and beautiful, it was nearly impossible to write anything that could express my feelings towards you." He gently strokes my cheek with the back of his hand ever so gently._

_I look deep into his violet colored eyes and know for certain that he means each and every word. But one thing that I am not so sure of is how his emotions toward me feel so longing. His face at this moment reveals so much sorrow and almost grief. He gives off a feeling that we will never be together, and that maybe this night might be our last one with each other. Just before I am about to feel more worried, he speaks softly._

_"Happy birthday Lucinda."_

_"How.. how did you know?" I say back to him with an astonished smile._

_"I over heard your parents when they were in town, they were contemplating on what they wanted to give you. They mentioned that they only had a few more weeks so I had narrowed it down to tomorrow, or today sense it is already past midnight." He gives me a warm smile of reassurance._

_I return his smile and lean in to him wrapping my arms around him as I rest my head against his shoulder. He raises his strong arms and returns my embrace. He feels so warm and strong that I am left with nothing else to feel but comfort and security. Although, I cannot help but feel that there will be something that will tear the both of us apart. That this strong and passionate love we share will not last forever. But right now that does not bother me, because I am right here with him in this beautiful and everlasting moment. What ever it is that is doomed to separate the two of us, it will never change the fact that we were here and that we were deeply loved by one another. Our love will continue to live on in this world, even when the two of us are no longer in it. Always, and forever._

This time when I woke up from the dream, my breath was not lost.

I woke still not entirely aware of what exactly I saw. I knew that I had seen the two of them share a special moment together and it was not cut short like the last one was. _Could this be because I had confessed my feelings to Jack. _I had thought. Maybe that was the case. Every time I had a dream about them I would always think of him. There was no one else that had reminded me of that boy but Jack. Thinking of his name helps draw me back to my senses. What happened after I told Jack that I loved him?

I gather all of my surroundings and feel that I am lying on top of someone big and warm. I motion my head upward and see that I am resting on Jack's chest, the lettering of his Red Jumpsuit Apparatus T-shirt readable underneath my chin. He is sound asleep, just as I was about a minute ago. Seeing that I had not waken him, I snuggle back into his chest, taking in his sent that is still fresh and ripe as it was this morning at school. Me silently doing this causes him to wrap both of his large arms around me in a secured and comforting embrace, as he takes a deep breath and drifts back into his peaceful slumber. I look over at the clock in our kitchen and see the time. Three-forty seven. I had been asleep for almost two hours. As I closely think of the time that passed while in the dream I had that could have lasted for an eternity, I can remember more clearly as to what had happened after I told Jack that I was in love with him.

_He had pressed his soft and warm lips to my own. My eyes were still open when his lips had connected with mine, but his were gently closed. I leaned in to him more and returned his kiss. When we had broken apart I had looked into his eyes with deep admiration and so had he in my eyes. Then I had wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and pulled him into a more passionate kiss. His tongue had glided against the bottom of my lip, begging for entry which I had gladly offered him, and his tongue had traced mine in a passionate dance. I had given in to his kiss, while savoring the sweet and minty taste of him and yearning for more. As our passionate kiss had continued on in it's intoxicating wake, I had struggle for breath but did not want the kiss to end so soon. My lack of oxygen soon took over and I broke away from Jack trying to regain my lost breath. The next time we had broken apart we were both breathing heavily as we had taken the others breath away. After we had shared our second kiss together, I had rested my head against his large toned chest while he wrapped an arm around me holding me securely, and slowly I drifted into a soundless sleep. That was when I had the dream. The boy and the girl had shared a very special moment together, and I had seen it all without it being cut short and wondering how their story truly concluded._

Seeing the time approaching nearer to four o' clock, I knew that my mother would be home soon and that Lucie should have been here by now. I slowly sat up from Jack and rubbed my eyes to better my vision. This had caused him to regain consciousness and stretch out his limbs with a silent yawn. When he had opened his eyes and saw me, a wide grin had appeared o his face. He had slowly gotten up from the couch pillow he was resting on and brought his face closer to mine, planting a soft kiss on my lips. When he broke away this time, he put a good amount of distance between us as if we were good friends again.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I responded with a small laugh.

"Didn't know a kiss could knock you out, maybe I should be kicked out of the prince charming industry."

"Sorry," I said with a laugh at his joke, "I just haven't had that much sleep in a while."

"So... what does this mean?" He asked, with that smile of his still visible.

"I guess this means that we're... _together_ now," I said smiling back at him.

He raises his right hand and rests it against the side of my shoulder. This gesture automatically makes me think that he is about to lean in for another kiss, but then he trails his index finger to the black leather chord of my pendant that is revealed through my loose buttoned shirt. He pulls the pendant that he had gotten me for my Fourteenth birthday out from under my shirt and smiles at me. It was actually a friendship necklace that went with the one that he would always wear as well. Looking at the bottom of his own neck I could see that a black leather cord peeked through the side of his shirt collar as well. The entire pendant was in the shape of an oval about two inches long of a full moon and of a wolf howling to it that was cut with a small waved patter in the middle. There was also a quote engraved on the back of the pendant that said, _Although I may never be able to reach you, no amount of distance from you is stronger than the bond we share.. _

Jack had the part of the pendant with the howling wolf that said the first part of the engraved quote, and I had the part with the full moon in its waking light with the other half of the quote. Jack had even told me the day I had opened and saw the entire pendant put together that he had written the quote himself. As he took out my half of the pendant, I had slowly reached over and took out his part by the leather cord underneath his band T-shirt and I returned his smile. Together we had brought the talisman together again as one, and reunited the two departed pieces. Jack takes his eyes off of the rejoined pendant and looks right into mine with those pure forest green ones of his and recites the first line of the engraved quote.

"Although I may never be able to reach you..." Jack begins. "No amount of distance from you is stronger than the bond we share." I finish, and give him a small smile.

Then without hesitation, he brings himself closer and wraps his arms around me in a secured warm embrace. He tightens his hold on me, and memories flood into my thoughts on the day he first held me like this.

_It was a late Friday afternoon when I had stayed after school to practice for choir and band back in eighth grade. It was almost six-thirty and I had taken a shortcut in an old alley with two-story bricked walls to get back to our previous home. It was then that I had seen three older boys following me about a few yards behind me. I had assumed that they were going the same route as I was, but then they had picked up their pace and were right on my trail. I had not noticed that one of them was right in front of me with a very ominous look on his face. It had looked as if he had been stocking his pray and now he would be going in for the kill. I had gotten a better look at all three of them and could make out that they were upper class men in High School, Juniors or maybe even Seniors. The tallest of them had stepped forth first, he was about the same height as Jack but the look in his eyes had made my heart begin to beat in panic._

_"Hey there cutie, what's your name?" he said in a husky voice, while the blood thirsty grin on his face grew._

_I didn't need time to think. I had grabbed hold of my pack and began to run, only to be caught by a death grip and roughly pushed against the brick wall of one of the buildings. I was facing him, and he looked me in the eyes with those compelling ones of his trying to persuade me that he meant no harm._

_"Woah now," the tall one said, "we haven't even introduced ourselves yet," he said, while rubbing his hand up my chest underneath my shirt._

_I cringed away from him trying to escape the firm grasp that he had on my hand and tempted to use the other to push him away. It was futile, he had gripped my other arm in an even tighter death grip, and raised them above my head and held them close together so he could hold both of them with one large hand. I had held my eyes shut to block out the numbing pain from his grip and finally opened them to face him while trying to erase some fear to show him I was not afraid of him. But in doing so had only made his glare more fierce, as he had strengthened his grip on me causing me to moan out in pain, I looked up at him once more and saw him slowly lick his lips._

_"You're so hot," he said while moving his other hand to the groin area of his black jeans, "I could fuck you right here and now."_

_Using what strength I had left in me, I had positioned my knee and thrust it forward slamming it into his crotch, causing him to wail out in pain. I had immediately used this opportunity to escape, but was quickly shoved to the ground with the one hand that he still had a grip on. He had gotten on top of my back and slammed my head onto the concrete floor causing me to see stars. I could feel a warm trickle down my face and knew that my forehead was bleeding. By now I had began to panic. _What would they do to me? Rape me? Kill me? What did I ever do to deserve this?

_He gets up off of my back and picks me up by the back of my shirt. Once I am on my feet again he shoves me back to wall he had pinned me against, only this time my back was to his chest. He pins both of my arms up over me and against the brick wall. Then, he suddenly starts to unbutton my pants and then slips his hands into my underwear and grabs me. An involuntary moan escapes my mouth only adding to his sense of pleasure and he continues to fondle me. He came closer to my face and licked the side of my cheek. I groaned and cringed away from him, causing him to grip me harder. He had reeked of cigarettes and alcohol._

_"What?" he said, adding length to the vowel sound, "don't tell me you're not enjoying this." he said._

_"PLEASE, LET GO OF ME!" I said, unable to control the scream that escaped with my plea._

_"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" I yelled again._

_Then I was thrown to the ground and stumbled to the wall. I heard a pop and then an inhuman scream followed by another pop and then the howling scream immediately stopped. My vision was blurry from being thrown all over and I couldn't gather all my surroundings at once._

_"What the fuc-!" one of the other boys had said. They were completely cut off from saying the next sound when an almost chocking sound had escaped their mouth then I heard a loud thud from the ground. _Was someone here to help me? Or were they taking out these juveniles and taking me for themselves? _The last of the boys had made a quick yelled gasp and I saw him on the ground clutching his side and then fell on his other side unable to scream out in pain. That was when I had seen a large dark figure standing above me. It was getting darker by the minute and I couldn't entirely see their whole of his face. I had raised my hands over my face in what little strength I had left to protect myself, and then I was brought into a crushing embrace._

_That was when I had smelled the familiar spice of his cologne and the fresh mint smell of his breath, there was also a small trace of body odor that was probably because he was at football practice. These small mementos of him had always made me knew that it was him, and right now not only did they help me realize it was him, it had also helped me realize I was safe. The minute I had finally realized it was Jack, I brought my arms up and hugged him back with all the remaining strength I had left in my body._

_"Jack," I had said with tears falling on to his shoulders._

_"Oh Lucian," he said in a sobbing tone, "I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner, then none of this would have happened. Did they-"_

_"You're here now," I had said cutting him off, not wanting to mention anything else. I was safe now in Jack's arms, and that was all that I had cared about in that moment._

_"I'm here." Jack said reassuringly, while tightening his hold on me._

I'll never forget that day. Not because it was a day that I was hurt, but because it was a day that I was saved. A day that I was saved by Jack. After the events of that day I had begun to realize that I didn't do anything at all for what happened to me, but I probably must have done something to be saved.

A few minutes later the police had arrived when Jack had called them with the three boys still unconscious. They were all taken in by ambulance and into custody at the same time for precaution. I was taken into a separate ambulance with Jack even though I was not mortally injured. I only needed to get a butterfly stitch that wouldn't cause any scars on my forehead where I was bleeding from. I remembered most of the conditions the other boys had faced from Jack's furry. One boy had a broken jaw with a few missing teeth, the other had four broken ribs, and the biggest of the three had a dislocated shoulder and a shattered knee cap. The police had told us that all three of them had records and there was no need at all to question them, and knew that all the damage done to them was self defense. One police officer had also noted how incredible it was for Jack, an eighth grade student to do a tremendous amount of damage to three upper High School students.

_"Well done son," one of the officers said, "really know how to take care of yourself and others."_

Jack was with me the entire time when I was brought in for questioning because I had to tell them what those High School kids were doing to me. Even though they would automatically prosecute the boys they still needed to know what they had or were going to do to me. Jack had a secured grip on me with his hand over my shoulder as I had answered each and every question. It was very difficult and painful to relive the atrocity that was inflicted upon me, but I knew that once this was all over I could move on with my life and put this moment behind me. Then the female attorney was a very nice lady and had taken the questioning with ease and tried not to ask very blunt questions. After about a half hour she had finally said that we were done and smiled at the both of us and looked at Jack.

_"Are you his brother?" she asked Jack with a warm smile._

_"Yeah," he said back to her, returning her smile while securing me to him closer._

Jack had stayed with me that entire weekend and even the first couple days of the week. That was the day he refused to sleep in the guest room and share my bed with him. I could feel that he had a strong arm protectively wrapped around me while I had slept in his warmth, and for 5 nights I had slept in complete peace and serenity. I had always been the one to look out and protect Lucie from the cold dark horrors of the world, but it was very pleasant to know that I had a protector of my own and I was even more thankful that it was Jack. That was the day our friendship had taken another course and we had ended up mostly like brothers. Of course Jack was the older and overprotective one and had made sure that every day he would walk me home from school. About seven months later, I had received a birthday gift that would be the very pendant that I wore now, with Jacks words engraved on the back as well as on my heart.

That relationship we shared then was very special, and the one that we were about to share now would be even more precious as time continued on.

Coming back from the old memories, I pull away from Jack's embrace and planted one more kiss upon his lips and sit up from the couch.

"You know," I began, "we're going to have to tell everyone else."

"Don't worry," he responded while smiling, "I know that you and me being together won't change the way that they already feel about us. In fact, I think it would make their love for us even stronger because of how much you and I had already cared for one another in the past." He looks up at me from the couch with his warm smile. Jack had never failed to comfort me even in the most serious or awkward moments like this one we were about to face.

"Yeah," I said, "you're right." and I returned his smile.

"We've been out for almost two hours," Jack says, bringing me back to my senses after I awoke from my peaceful slumber.

"Yeah, I should text Lucie and see how things are going." I pull my iPhone out from my front pocket and walk into the kitchen and text her.

_Hey Lu, everything alright? _

_Lucie: Yeah, Em's been telling me all about her crazy family reunion and that Matt will be coming back soon. We've been at the library since we left the park about an hour ago, everything alright with Jack ;)_

That wink face seemed a little too peculiar, and Matthew was Emily's boyfriend that had went to study at another school for a scholarship over the summer. He was studying to become an oncologist. Matt's younger sister had died of leukemia when he was only twelve years old and had wanted to help people that would face similar conditions. Me and Lucie had always given him our best support, even with our own personal experiences with cancer.

_Hey Lucie?_

_Lucie: Yeah?_

_Jack and I are .. kinda together now .._

_Lucie: As in "together" together 3?_

_Uh .. Yeah .._

_Awwww, I'm happy for the both of you ^.^ I know how much you two love each other, and how cute you two must look together. ^.^_

A smile appears on my face at her comment. I knew that Lucie loved Jack, and that she wouldn't be bothered by our new relationship. Then I text her again.

_Mind spreading the word? _

_Lucie: You bet, bouquets and all :D_

Jack steps into the kitchen behind me and gives me a hug from behind while resting his chin on my shoulder. He tries to look over at what I'd been texting Lucie but I have already locked my phone, along with my confession to her.

"What are _you_ smiling for?" he asks.

"I told Lucie about us" I answered.

"What was her response?"

"I think she'll be planning the wedding soon." I said.

"I take it that means she loves us even more?"

"Yup." I said

"Well the only one really important we have left to tell is your mom." At that remark I was beginning to shake a little. I had never really told or even discussed with my mother about my own sexual orientation. Ever since dad died it's been hard finding a love like that at all, not since I had found Jack as a friend. Before I even have time to fully gather my thoughts on a coming out to my mother, I hear the door unlock.

Inside walks my mother with her work bag and lets down her long wavy brown hair. She had been working at a local business for computer programs that paid very good money. As she walks into the kitchen she is surprised that Jack is here with me and gives her warm welcome smile.

"Oh, hi Jack, I haven't seen you in a long time," she said in her usual sweet voice, " hope everything was alright over the summer."

"Oh no worries Sarah," he said, directing her always by her first name, " just thought that Luke could use a break from big brother old me." He winks at me while placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Well its good to see you again," she said smiling at him, " how's Marry doing?" Marry was Jack's mom who had divorced about a couple years ago due to an affair.

"She's been great, she's currently been seeing this one guy for a couple months now. He's a really great guy and I think he really loves her, he just might be a keeper." He said while holding up a thumb to her.

"That's great Jack. What about you, have _you_ been seeing anyone new lately?" my mother asked. She had also heard about Jack's recent failed relationship with Richard. Which brings me back to mention what he had said to me earlier.

"Oh mom, I've been meaning to tell you something as of today," I begin trying to gather the correct words. She looked at me with a worried expression for cutting off their conversation.

"Sure hon, what is it that you need to discuss."

"Well, umm..." I began, already knowing that my face was turning a shade of red, "Jack... and I... we're... together." I tried my best to not make it sound too awkward, but probably had done the exact opposite. But then, Jack steps right next to me and gently takes hold of my hand where my mom can see. And then, her brown eyes light up brighter than the sun.

"Oh Luke," she begins, while placing clenched hands over her mouth covering what I presumed was a big smile, " I'm so happy for the two of you." she comes up to the two of us and gives us a big hug. When she pulls away, there are tears of joy in her eyes.

"All I want is for you to be happy Luke," she said and looks at Jack, " and I know that Jack will make you more than happy." she kisses my cheek as well as his.

"Jack why don't you stay over for the night, It'd be nice to finally have someone over once in a while." my mother said.

"Sure, I'd love to." Jack said.

"I don't have to be worried about you two being in the same room now do I?" my mother said in a defensive tone.

"Moooooom," I had groaned, only to see that she was trying to hid a huge grin.

"Sarah, how could you think so low of me," Jack said sounding a bit betrayed, "I haven't even taken Luke out on our first date yet."

"Then I suggest you two discuss decide on where you plan to have your first date tomorrow. I'll be home about an hour and a half later tomorrow because of a bigger project planned this week at the office." my mother said.

"Okaaay mom," I said to her, and began guiding Jack to my room.

"You two kids be safe," my mother warned.

"Don't worry Sar, we will," Jack said while giving her one last grin and stepping into the hall towards my room.

Inside my room, I always noticed my bookshelf first because of all the memories it had carried with it. It was always nice looking back at books almost as if they were lives that I had once lived. Jack had walked over to the bookshelf that stood almost as tall as him and glided his hand against a row of my collection of Jodi Picoult books. Growing up together for almost four years now, we both had read the same books and had very similar tasted in literature. Of course with me having almost no contact with him for nearly three months now, he had not seen that I had gotten quite a few more books since the last time he was here.

"Your collection is growing by the days," Jack said, "I think you'd make a very good author." He looked in my direction with light in his forest green eyes.

"What makes you think that?" I asked, trying to hide a blush.

"Well, you have really good taste in books," he begins, "and, you also have a very beautiful perspective on the world as a whole. I always love listening to you speak about how you believe that all the authors you've read taught you to live out your life to the fullest. Even when things don't go so according to how you perceived them to be. And that the heart breaks that we face in life are only here for a moment, when we begin to look on to a better future for ourselves."

_Wow. _I had thought. I never really knew that Jack paid attention to all of the things I would talk about forever in a particular book or author. I had presumed that only Lucie was the one who really went in depth with the books that she read the way that I did. But now hearing Jack say all of these kind words to me, it showed me that I had introduced him to a whole new way of reading a story and trying to find its message from the author. I could completely see now that Jack really loved who I was as a human being, which only made me love _him _even more.

He walked back towards me and gently placed his hands against my cheeks securing my face, and drew me in to a kiss. It was very nice and considerate of Jack to begin to take things slow between the two of us, but in some way offensive too. Jack should be more than familiar with me and not afraid to at least make one small intimate move. Then without warning him, I push him onto my black covered queen sized mattress and sit atop his lap while our kiss is still intact. I slowly begin to deepen the kiss and try to take full control over our now more passionate moment together. He moans as the kiss become more intimate and places both of his hands on the back of my shoulders and rolls me over on my back so that he is now on top of me, refusing to be dominated. _Now things are going to become more interesting_. I thought. I wrap my arms around the back of his neck and run my fingers through his thick and soft brown hair. His hands trail underneath my back, pulling me closer to him. I could feel the warm and hard muscles in his chest and arms flex as he presses himself closer to me. We made small breaks in between kisses to regain quick amounts of air and dive right back in to another long and passionate kiss, drowning ourselves in each others intoxicating presence. Before I could even think of how much further we would explore one another, Jack breaks our breathless kiss and slowly pulls away from me.

"You realize that your mom is in the kitchen just down the hall," he said, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Says the guy pounced on top of me." I said back to him with a grin.

With a groan Jack rolls off to the side of me on the bed disappointed that our moment together had to be paused. He stares up at the ceiling lost in thought. I could probably think that he was wondering how things had come down to today. Not three months ago had we been the best of friends and shared a bond of almost like brothers and here we were now in this moment together. His lost stare had also made me think of all those things as well. Not once did I ever imagine I would ever feel this way about Jack. I knew that he was gay and I never had a problem with it. I never really gave that much thought to having a long term relationship because of how many times I had seen this type of love fall apart in books. But at the same time, I had seen through heartbreaks come new relationships and fresh starts. That had helped me realize that even though love can fall apart, it has a way of repairing itself over time, we just have to give it that time.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked softly.

"Us," He answered back, "well, more like what's going to happen from here on out. I mean, I never really thought that you and I would be in a relationship like this. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just that, I don't really know what's going to happen from here on out." He looked back at me with a wondrous look in his eyes.

"Yeah," I said back, while sitting myself up on the bed by my arm, " it's kind of nice though. Not knowing how things will turn out, because in the long run that's pretty much how life is. Unexpected." He smiles at my response and looks back at the ceiling again.

"So... where do you want to go?" he asked with a grin, "for our first date."

"I don't know," I answered back shyly, "there's not much to do in a small town like Savannah."

"I know a place!" Jack said sitting up with his grin widening, "the juice bar, down the block from here."

A small smile of recognition crosses my mind. The juice bar was the very first place that Jack and I had hung out together when we had first became friends. We had first gone there when we stayed from school practicing a song together we had rehearsed for almost a week. We ended up playing the very song with his guitar and the upright piano they had for karaoke, and together we sang the song and received a standing ovation from the crowed. Jack had always loved singing and playing his guitar there whenever we had a chance to go. _It would be perfect place for a first date! _I had nearly wanted to say aloud. A place where we could spend the first day of a new relationship in place where we had spent time with an old one.

"I'd love to go there for a first date," I said smiling at him, and sat up on the bed and drew him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around me and inched his face closer to mine, planting a soft kiss against my lips.

"Great," he said pulling away, and gazed at me with a loving look in his eyes, " and I'd love to sing a song for you there too."


	5. Chapter 5

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

* * *

Four: Unexpected

No dreams had found me that night when I awoke.

I woke with the warmth of Jack's chest against my back, and his arm was wrapped protectively around me as he would always do in his sleep. I glanced over at the mechanical clock on my night stand and saw that it was barely Five a.m. and still slightly dark. Last night was like very few when I would not dream of the boy and girl.

I remember a time when I had not dreamt of them for almost a week and thought that they had finally left me for good. Until one day they had found me once again. But something was different about this particular time. I somehow felt a sense of closure with those dreams now. But I also felt somewhat sadness for their departure, because they had also given me comfort in thinking I could be loved like that by someone. But lying right here in Jack's strong arms, I knew that I no longer needed them because I _was_ loved by someone like that now.

I slowly turned around in my bed careful not to wake Jack, and cuddled my face in his warm chest while I wrapped my arm around his large frame. His own arm around me tightened behind my back pressing me further into his chest. It felt so good and comforting to be this close to someone now, and to no longer need the faded memories of those dreams to fantasize about being in love.

His hand pressed against my back had trailed upward to the back of my head. Gently he ran his fingers through my hair and moved his face to the top of it and inhaled my scent. I had showered last night and used my regular shampoo that had the same familiar lavender that he was accustomed to.

I lifted my head to face his eyes and saw that they were just barely beginning to open, revealing their wondrous forest green color. A small smile had appeared on his face when he looked into my eyes and lowered his lips to capture mine in a sweet good-morning kiss. I had gladly accepted it and slowly massaged my lips against his. He then slipped his other arm underneath me to embrace me as our kiss had continued in its wake. My hold on him had tightened as I secured my one free arm around him. I wanted more of him and sought to get as much as I could as if I would never get the same amount ever again.

My heart had raced beyond infinity and I could feel it beating against my rib cage, aching to break free to reach the endless love that Jack was giving me. Our legs had intertwined underneath the bed sheets, releasing more of his body heat into my own. His sweet and spicy scent had still lingered on him and within the bed sheets, and I inhaled all of which had been remained relishing it as it would slowly begin to blind my sense of smell.

His tongue had eased its way into my mouth and passionately traced my own. His mouth had tasted a bit raw due to not brushing for almost eight hours but that didn't bother me right now at all. I was completely intoxicated by every touch, smell, and taste of him that nothing would prevent me from savoring anything that was given off by him.

We had continued to just hold one another and kiss for what felt like hours but was probably only a few short minutes. Once we had felt that we finally had enough of each other we broke apart to fully gather the others features. He gazed deep into my eyes with that lost and beautiful look on his face, as if he were losing himself in their sight. He then lifted his warm hand and caressed it against my cheek. I gently put my own hand against his and leaned into his warm heavenly touch, feeling as if I were melting away into sweet bliss. I looked back into his eyes while trying to put on a familiar look on my face.

"Good morning," I said to him releasing a sigh.

"Morning babe," he said while smiling back at me, and lowered his lips to kiss my forehead.

"Babe?" I asked.

"Just thought I'd give it a try," he said, bringing his face back and winking at me.

"Oh," I said, "what else are you going to try?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Nothing beyond sensuality," he said, "...yet." he finished, revealing a small grin.

"Sounds tempting," I said back to him, returning his grin.

"Better not try anything, cause I might not be able to control myself," He warned, and leaned in to kiss me on my lips.

"I'll try my best to behave," I said after breaking our kiss. Resting my head back against Jack's strong and warm chest, I still felt drowsy from last nights sleep. I could feel Jack secure his hold on me and knew that he probably felt the same effect as well.

"Do we have to get up so soon?" he asked with a sigh.

"No," I answered, "we can stay like this for a little longer."

"Good," he said, holding me close to him and breathing in my presence. It had been such a long time since we were ever this close. All of the dreams I had over summer had completely robbed my memories of Jack and I ever being near each other. I had not once ever thought or longed to be this close to him that upon realizing it now had made the fact that isolating myself from him all this time had hurt only more.

"I've missed being this close to you," I said within the brief silence between us, burring my face into his chest once again.

Jack sighed again and tightened his hold on me while gently rubbing his face in my hair.

"I've missed this too," he said back with the same longing tone in his voice.

"Have you ever... felt _this_ way about me before?.. Ever?" I asked.

"To be completely honest with you..." he began softly, "Yes, I have... When we had first had met each other in Jr. High that is. It was more of a boy crush in the beginning, but I really wanted to know more about _you _first before I made any permanent decisions about my feelings. As I slowly began to see more of you each day, my crush for you slowly began to decease because you were such a great friend to me. And then..._ that_ day happened. I was so enraged about what they had... or were going to do to you, the thought of you being mistreated in any way had made me ache." he buried his face in my hair.

"After the events of that day I never wanted to see you hurt that way again. I only wanted happiness to be in your life but, I know that that's never a guarantee. So I sought to give you any ounce of happiness I could find for you, and slowly my love for you came back but in a different form. I had truly never let go of the thought of us being together like this. But if you would have only loved me as a brother and not as you do now, I would rather have that source of love than none from you at all."

"Jack..."

I was completely lost for words. I knew that Jack had loved me, but never in a way that was as far great as he had just revealed to me now. I felt so guilty for never even noticing how strong his love for me had truly been. But I knew that he had intended for it to be that way because he probably didn't want to risk losing what we had already shared in the past. If I had known about how he truly felt back then, maybe we could have been together like this sooner than now. I never really thought of Jack and I being together back then, but I secretly wanted something more from Jack but could never really think what it was until now. _This,_ was what I had desired back then.

All I had wanted now was to be with Jack in this moment, forever._ If only forever could possibly exist. _I had thought.

With my face still buried in Jack's chest, I had tried my hardest to fight back the tears that were brought by his words, but they had already began to fall. I had so greatly wanted to be loved like this so much , that I was completely blind and ignorant to realize that someone had already felt that source of love for me. My tears had begun to create a small wet spot on Jack's night shirt that he had started to pull away from me.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern, wiping away my tears with his warm gentle hand.

"I'm in love with you, that's what's wrong," I answered him in between tears and soft sniffs.

"How exactly is that a bad thing?" he asked again smiling, still catching the last remaining tears.

"Because," I began, "maybe we could have been this way a lot sooner, and been happier in the past when we really needed it. Me with my dad dying.. yours leaving out on you... we could have escaped that pain together and replaced it with happiness... with _this_."

"But I _am_ happy Lucian. I am happier than I think I'll ever be in my entire life. All I have ever wanted from you was _your_ love, and you've given me more than I could ever even imagine having."

I lifted my eyes to him which I could feel were probably pink in color. Again, I had known in the tone of his voice that he had meant each and every word. How was it that Jack's words had such a powerful impact on me? It had felt as if they could even transcend time itself. The very words that he chose to say would echo and linger on in even the darkest of depths in the world and beyond. _I have heard words like these before._

I smiled at him and wiped away the remnants of my tears. All I could do after hearing his words were to lean into him and savor every moment that we would have together. From this moment we had now, and to the very last one of us would have with the other. Even then I had known in that moment that death would never tear us part, because a part of me had longingly held on to a belief that our love would never die, and hopefully continue to live on in the hearts and souls it would possibly touch in what could even be a brief lifetime.

* * *

After about a half hour of cuddling with Jack I had finally given in to the fact that we both needed to get out of bed. It had only taken me a few minutes to get into the clothes I had picked out to wear the night before, and Jack had put on the clothes he had picked up from his house when he decided to stay the night. I was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be smelling of his sweet and spicy scent as he did yesterday at school, but the fact that he was now my boyfriend had made up for it.

_Boyfriend._ I had thought.

It seemed a little funny to think about at first, but it also lead to a sense of curiosity. I had never really knew the ground rules as to having a lover or a spouse. In some of the books I read, I'd read some parts where a couple would be making out in a corner or having sex in a car after a first date. But I knew how kind and gentle Jack was and that he most definately wouldn't try anything too far on a first date with me.

What was more of what I had expected was just a simple day out together. Just the two of us and talking about what was going on now in the present and what would possibly be in the future. Just the simplest of things alone had meant the world to me, because they had ensured I had nothing to be worried about or afraid of in that moment.

As Jack was trying to tame his bed head in my bathroom, I had stepped out onto my balcony that was just right outside of my room. This was one of the things that I had really loved about this apartment. With being on the top third floor of the apartment building, I had a breath taking view of all of Savannah.

The tall green trees throughout the entire town had stretch so far and wide that at the right time of twilight, the sun would cast just the perfect amount of light to create a vast sea of dark and light green. As the wind had blown the leaves, their graceful dance in the wind would closely resembled the waves of the ocean.

The color had also resembled that which I would always find looking in Jack's eyes.

As I looked up at the sky I could see that it was not as cloudy as it was yesterday. The twilight had cast swirls of pink and orange to the clouds that were lovely compliments to the trees vast green color. The tall gothic styled buildings of Savannah were a little ironic to be seen in this view but somehow look more beautiful in it as well.

A cool breeze had passed by that had sent a quit shiver up my body as I had gazed out upon the town. That was until I felt strong warm arms wrap securely around me, concealing what little warmth I had left and giving me more in their presence. I had slowly turned around to face Jack and saw that the rising sun had casted a small ray of sunlight on his lightly tanned skin. I returned his embrace and stood on the tips of my feet so that my lips were at level with his, and pressed them against their warm touch in a soft tendered kiss. After we had parted, he gently rested his forehead against mine with his eyes closed and let out a small breath.

"I love you," he said softly, opening his pure forest green eyes.

"I love you too," I said back to him.

I held him close to me.

* * *

Jack pulled up in the school parking lot and looked back at me when the ignition was off. My hand was still within the hold of his larger one and had tightened as he inched his face closer to me. His lips had captured mine in a chaste kiss that I wish could have lasted longer and been more seductive in its wake. But I was hoping after our date that we would have much more time together alone, and hopefully explore one another's lips some more.

"We still have about a half hour until school starts," Jack said releasing a quick breath, "we could spend the rest of it all in here?" his eyes glance back at me with a look in them that would have hypnotized me in a heart beat. I immediately would have taken him upon his offer without a second thought, but I also didn't want to rush into anything too soon even before our first date. So instead I used an excuse to lure Jack into what _my_ offer would be.

"As much as I'd want to, unfortunately after the day is over I'll want even more than thirty minutes alone with you" I said to him.

"That sounds reasonable" he said, and places one more kiss on my lips that left the slightest taste of hunger. "Why don't we go meet up with the others, Em and Lucie left a while before us so everyone should be on campus now."

"Yeah, much better than being here 'alone'," I said sarcastically.

He smiled at my comment and we stepped outside his car. The weather in Savannah today was gloomy but beautiful. The grey clouds looked almost like torn fabric that had let some sunlight peek through their jagged openings. Very cool breezes would pass by as Jack and I had walked into the schools gates and seeped into my long sleeved shirt that sent goose bumps trailing up and down my arms. A fresh autumn sent was in the air that had smelled of wet leaves and pavement, and just the slightest trace of lavender.

We begin to walk out towards the courtyard when Jack steps closer to me on my right side. From this distance I could feel the body heat that he had always seemed to naturally give off, and he slowly slipped his hand in my own and interlocked our fingers. Just this simple gesture from him was enough to make my heart skip a beat or two, and I then I gladly secured my own hold on his hand as we walked to our usual spot in the courtyard where we had hung out in since Freshman year.

I could see that Emily and Lucy were talking to John and Charlotte near one of the stone tables by the fountain with the human sized angel statue. They both had worn their usual attire today, Lucie with her black skinny jeans and covers and an old band t-shirt, and Emily in casual blue jeans and a white long sleeved blouse, while both of them had their long wavy hair swaying in the breeze. Charlotte and John were always in their punk-grundge style and somehow always managed to reinvent it almost every day.

Jack and I had casually approached them as we would have done usually, but this time we were holding one another's hand. It was a little strange that I wasn't feeling nervous about holding hands with him, but in a way had also made this gesture seem normal. The majority of the kids at Sword and Cross didn't really care about same sex couples. Although most of the girls would screech with their annoying fan-girl screams at the sight of two guys sharing the slightest amount of what they called "bromance" these days.

Lucie and Emily had greeted us with warm smiles and appeared more happy than they did on a regular day. Charlotte and John had exchanged a few hinted looks of approval at the sight of the two of us in front of them. Then John had rose from his seat on the bench and walked toward Jack with open arms.

"How's my favorite homo?" he asked humorously with a wide grin. Then Jack had released my hand and walked into Johns arms in a tight bear hug. They were almost the same height with Jack being about a couple inches taller and a bit more build to him.

"Great man," Jack answered in the same tone. "How's my favorite ladies man?" Jack asked back, and then he quickly released him and caught John in a head lock. The two of them began their regular routine of just horsing around and oblivious to the rest of us. Jack and John had always shared that casual relationship that you'd expect any athletic and rock star guys to share. Even though John was heterosexual and loved pointing it out by hitting on any good-looking woman that walked by, he never let Jack's opposing sexuality prevent him from getting to know the really nice guy that Jack was.

"Okayokay," John began to pleaded while tapping on Jack's arm in surrender. "I give up, I give up."

Jack began to release John and laughed with his struggle for release, and then the two had their arms over the other's shoulder. John then began to congratulate Jack and me on our new relationship and patted him on the shoulder. As the two of them had began to converse about I walked over to Lucie and Emily. I hadn't seen the both of them since they got back to our apartment late in the afternoon yesterday and felt a little guilty for not spending some time with them.

"Hey Lucie, sorry we couldn't join you at the park yesterday after school," I said apologetically and opened my arms to her for a hug.

She walked over to me with an understanding look in her eyes, and gave me our regular good morning hug.

"It's okay," she said pulling away from me. "You had absolutely no contact at all over the summer, so I thought you two should talk about things in private." her smile had faded into a worried look. "Are you sure everything was alright over summer vacation?"

"Trust me Lu, we're completely alright now. Me and Jack talked things over yesterday back at home, we're happy now." I try to reassure her.

Emily looked back at me with a smirk. "Pretty sure that alone time with Jack was worth it." she raised an eyebrow at the last sentence.

"Yeah," Lucie agreed with the same look, "How exactly did that alone time go with you too."

"It's not what you think, trust me," I told them, raising my hands in defense.

"Alright," Lucie said with a sigh. "Are you guys going to do anything today after school?" she asked with a questioning look.

"Well uh, yeah we are," I tell her. "We planned on going to the Juice Bar down the street after school. Jack also told me that he wanted to play something there for me there too."

Both of them had looked at each other with a look of excitement on their faces.

"Did he tell you what he was going to play for you?" Emily asked in an eager tone.

"Well, no," I answered. " He said that he wanted it to be a surprise." a small smile crosses my face at my last sentence.

"Hmm, what other surprises does he have in store for you," Charlotte mischievously asked right beside Emily. Her shoulders were crossed over a torn black long sleeve shirt with dirty blonde hair and highlights falling over them.

"Nothing that I don't know of," I responded in the same tone.

"Oh, well, hope the two of you have fun," Lucie said in an almost warning tone.

As Jack and John had finished their horseplay, they approached us at the table and John had directed a wide grin towards me and help his arms out.

"Hey there cutie," he said in a teasing tone. I returned his wide grin and walked into his arms and he held me in a tight bear hug. Because of how tall he was like Jack, I had to turn my head to the side and rest it against his chest.

"Hey there teddy bear," I responded to him, and he released me from his hug while still giving me a bright and warm smile.

Like Jack, John had also been like an older brother to me. With Jack being his close friend and was always so caring and protective of me, the instinct slowly came over John himself and then became a second big brother. And soon afterwards he'd be giving me tight-crushing bear hugs on a daily basis.

After we shared our casual greetings, the four noted bell had signaled the start of classes. Emily, Charlotte, and Lucie all had first period History together and had said their goodbyes and headed to their class. I had first period English with John and my last two classes after lunch were both with Jack, and given our current status I couldn't be more thankful for that.

When the girls had gone off to their class Jack came up to me with an affectionate look in his eyes and held out his arms to me.

"One for the road," he said with a smirk. I laughed under my breath and walked into his strong arms for a warm hug and stood on the tips of my shoes to kiss him on the lips. Jack then had held me more securely to him to keep our kiss intact and lengthen its duration.

"Ugh," John had groaned in almost irritation. I knew that he accepted our new relationship, but it also never occurred to me that he would be bothered by the two of us just kissing in front of him, given his own opposing sexuality. Of course that thought had immediately ceased by his next remark. "Come on Jack, be a real man and get some tongue in there."

I couldn't help but laugh at his sly comment as my lips were still locked with Jack's. Breaking away, Jack had shot a quick accusing glare at John revealing just the slightest hint of humor in them. I guess things won't seem so different between us after all. In fact, they're also in some way almost better.

* * *

All throughout the school day, I couldn't help but wonder what our first date would be like, and if I'd be willing enough to hold his hand in the public view of the juice bar. I figured we'd just sit and talk about one another, but we already knew so much about each other it almost seemed pointless for a date. But just one day alone with Jack felt really good to think about. Even though hanging out together seemed familiar, this approach to our current relationship seemed entirely new and unexpected. I also began to wonder what song he would be playing. Playing for me.

The Juice bar was widely know by the town kids for hosting its karaoke performances, well, mostly for the really good ones that Jack would preform. There were a couple of times that I too would preform with him, but I was more of a Bethoveen type of musician and liked to keep my music for myself.

When school had finally ended, I began to feel a little nervous about going out. But when Jack had interlocked our fingers and held my hand all throughout the walk to the school parking lot, all that worry ceased to be. It never amazed me at how his presence could calm all worries and fear that crashed and broke inside of me. He always carried an aura with him that calmed even the most unsettled hearts. He had even helped an elderly woman in the town park who had Alzheimer's, and helped her remember her own whereabouts and then kindly escorted her home.

I felt very fortunate to have had Jack in my life as a friend, and even more fortunate to have him now as a boyfriend.

I really wanted to know how his summer was due to the fact of our communication over the break was very brief. Maybe he learned or wrote some new songs on his guitar. I never really noticed how long it had been since I'd heard him play and sing. Now my urge to see his performance for me was only beginning to rise due to this realization.

We began the short drive to the small downtown area in Savannah and moved on to the street the juice bar was on. As he parked his car just along the side walk a few doors down to the juice bar, my heart began to rise a little. I was just a few footsteps away from what would be _my _afternoon with Jack, and I couldn't wait to see what would become of it.

Walking through the front side of the glass coated doors we were greeted by one of the workers that we had known since the first time we came here back in Junior High, Kacey.

"Hey guys, long time no see," she said with her lively voice, bringing us into a tight hug. "It's so great to have our best musicians back, this place has been a total hipster hang-out over the summer."

"Don't worry Kace," Jack reassured her. "I'll be playing a little something tonight that will hopefully bring the place back to it's former glory." he looked around the tables that were occupied by about twenty-five people or so, and most of them were kids from our school. The Juice bar I could tell had still been remodeled for the summer. They had their Hawaiian punch and smoothie specials on the board over the ordering counter. They also still had beach themed decorations that still gave off a warm summer vibe, given how cool the weather was really like outside.

"Awww, that's great," Kacey said. "Will it be a classic or something new?"

"Well, uh, actually it'll be original," Jack sounded a bit hesitant.

My eyes had widen a bit at his words. Jack wrote an original song?! I had thought. Jack had always loved doing covers and performing at karaoke. Even though he was always a bit nervous as to write something of his own because he feared it might not be good. This discovery however, had only made the day all the more enjoyable. Jack would be singing something that he wrote himself. And he'd be singing it for me!

"Oh wow, really?" Kacey said in amazement. "I've never heard anything original from you. I bet it'll be good given your taste in music."

"Oh, well uh, thanks Kace," Jack muttered while scratching the back of his head with a shy smile. It was kind of cute seeing someone as big and confident as Jack being embarrassed by just a little bit of acknowledgement.

"Don't mention it Jackie, you're really talented," she said with a wink. "Well, performances start in about another twenty minutes, so the two of you can just have a drink and wait." she gestured us to a free table, and went off to retrieve our usual drinks that she knew we always shared.

When the two of us were let at our table I looked back at Jack and saw that his usual smirk was on his face.

"Why didn't you tell her that, you know, we're together and, that this is a date?" I asked.

"Well, cause this is our day together," Jack said to me, the look in his eyes becoming more focused. "All I want right now is to just spend time with you." He gave me his best loving and warm smile.

Just those words alone were enough to make my heart leap. And that smile that he gave me that was always so casual seemed entirely knew at the same time. It was almost as if I were discovering a new side of Jack I never knew existed thanks to what we share together now.

A couple minutes after we settle at our tables Kacey came back with our usual drinks. Mine was a lemonade drink mixed with four different types of berries and Jack had a fruit smoothie mixed with a sprite and fruit syrup. Kacey told us that today there would only be two performances today including Jacks.

She said that the other performer was a new guy in town and she said that she thought that he was a pretty good singer, and that he was kind of hot. As we enjoyed our drinks and waited till they would announce the performances Jack had looked down to his drink that he held and had looked almost sad.

"Hey Jack, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just a little down." he muttered under his breath, trying to crack a smile.

"Well, hey what's wrong? Did something happen over the summer?

"Yeah..." he sounded a bit more adrift.

"What happened Jack?... Was it something bad?" I began to sound more worried.

"My best friend completely avoided me for two and a half months straight." his eyes had found mine in their fixed glance.

"But, I answered your call on my birthday," I said, trying to reason with him.

"Yeah, but that conversation lasted for less than a minute." his tone sounded more angered.

I paused at his last sentence, I remembered that day a little too well. Jack had called me through my cell since I had not been responding to any of his texts and passing the more urgent ones with 'okays' and 'yeahs'. The dreams had first begun to awaken a few weeks prior to my birthday and had only become more apparent afterwards.

The almost sense of reality that they had given off had made me a bit scared as to thinking they possibly could be subconscious feelings that I felt about Jack. But I also couldn't help but wonder if they also held an even deeper meaning, one that I somehow knew existed in that vast simulation of my reality.

There were also some occasions when I wouldn't sleep for a few days and I'd develop bags under my eyes that would also redden.

"Jack," I began. "I spent the entire summer thinking I was losing my mind with the dreams. Things were just very complicated at that time and I really didn't want you to see me that way. I didn't want you thinking that I was crazy, and... I was afraid you'd reject me." I couldn't help but look away from his eyes and rest them on my one hand beside my drink.

I did give a lot of thought during the summer as to how I could be making Jack feel by shutting him out, but I never knew that I could also be hurting him. When I felt the warmth of his hand cover mine and looked up to face him, there was a small smile on his face and a wide understanding look in his eyes.

"Luke," he began, bringing down the slight anger in his voice to a soft tone. "you were my best friend. You could tell me anything, and it wouldn't change the way that I'd think about you. And as for worrying about rejection, I still love you the same way I did when we were friends. The only difference now is, we can make our love stronger in a way that we never could have in the beginning."

"Thank you, Jack. And I really am sorry for making you worry." I said to him, and positioned my hand so that it was now locked with his own. "I love you too."

We shared a brief look at one another in silence when one of the microphone on the small stage in the back of the juice bar had buzzed on. Kacey was standing on the stage and wore her casual jeans and convers, along with an apron over what I could make out was probably a Nirvana t-shirt that showed the Juice Bar logo. She put on her bright smile and spoke in her cheerful-uplifting voice as she had announced the start of karaoke.

"Hey guys, hope everyone had a great vacation over the summer!" almost the entire crowed had responded with a loud 'yeah!'. "Yeah, that's great to hear. Well for today we'll be having only two performances, but one especially, will be from one of our most favorite musicians, Jackson Welch!" she gestured with her hand to our table.

"Yeah Jack!" someone in the audience had yelled, followed by an applause of claps and cheers from the others.

Jack had responded with a wave of his hand, and then had gotten up from our table in the middle of the juice bar and headed for the stage. As he walked up the three steps of the stage, he looked a lot taller than he usually did and then sat on the stool with the store owned guitar and two microphones already set for him. One for the guitar, and one for his voice.

As he positioned himself with the guitar strap over his shoulder and his hands in place on the neck and strings, he raised his face to the higher positioned mic.

"Hey guys long time no see," he began with his soft and deep voice, the mic only adding to its tenderness. "well, today's going to be a bit different because I'll be playing an original song that I wrote over the summer, and it's called Here Without You." the audience had applaud for him once again again.

"I'd also like to dedicate this song to a very special someone, who I just couldn't stop thinking about over the summer," then there were a few high pitch 'woos' that came from the audience. At the same time, my heart had skipped a beat from _a very special someone_. If he had written it over the summer when things weren't going quite so well, I wondered if it would be a sad song or maybe an uplifting one given to Jack's own character.

As he motioned his fingers over the strings and began plucking the lower strings, my heart had steadied. The first few chords were low, but also were somehow longing as if yearning to feel something. Then he began to sing, with his delicate but strong voice.

_A hundred days have made me older_  
_Since the last time that I saw your face._  
_A thousand lies have made me colder_  
_And I don't think I can look at this the same._  
_All the miles that separate_  
_Disappear now when I'm dreamin' of your face._

His gaze fixes at me and the look in his eyes becomes more longing. Then he then begins to strum the stings with his middle finger and thumb and makes their notes louder along with his voice. He creates with both the guitar and his voice a euphoria of music from just two instruments, but it also leaves a feeling of loss and sorrow.

_I'm here without you _  
_But you're still on my lonely mind._  
_I think about you, and I dream about you all the time._  
_I'm here without you_  
_But you're still with me in my dreams_  
_And tonight, it's only you and me._

He holds the last note and raises it a couple of notes and then gradually ceases its sound.

_The miles just keep rollin'_  
_As the people leave their way to say hello_  
_I've heard this life is overrated_  
_But I hope that it gets better as we go._

He smiles at me after singing the last line of the second verse. But then the chorus comes back and that longing emotion returns with it.

_I'm here without you _  
_But you're still on my lonely mind._  
_I think about you, and I dream about you all the time._  
_I'm here without you _  
_But you're still with me in my dreams_  
_And tonight, it's only you and me._

He holds the not a little longer and then immediately ceases its sound and then sings what I think must be the bridge the bridge. As he strums and shifts between cords his body begins to sway with the music, revealing how much emotion he's pouring out with every chord.

_Everything I know, and anywhere I go,_  
_It gets hard but it won't take away my love._  
_And when the last one falls, when its all said and done._  
_It gets hard but it won't take away my love._

The look in his eyes becomes less sadden and longing, and begin to show a more loving and appreciating look. When he sings the last part of the song that is ultimately the one that holds the most sorrow, he sings it with the most honest smile on his face and raises his voice in a more positive tone.

_I'm here without you _  
_But you're still on my lonely mind._  
_I think about you and I dream about you all the time._  
_I'm here without you _  
_But you're still with me in my dreams_  
_And tonight, it's only you and me._

The last note he sings with a soft hold and then gradually ceases it like he did in the beginning, but in a manner of ending something sad with acknowledging that he still held on to what he lost. _Or what he thought he had lost_.

The entire audience had risen from their seats and greatly applauded Jack's performance giving him the grandest standing ovation he probably ever received. I too had risen from my seat applauding him with all the emotions that were desperately escaping me. As Jack had stepped down from the stage and began to walk towards me, I couldn't help myself in that moment.

When he was about four steps away from me, I took the last remaining steps and immediately brought my lips up to his while wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders.

I had my eyes closed while I was kissing him but could tell by the feeling of his stance that he was surprised. He had just sang what could have been his entire heart out to me-and just me-, that I didn't care that we were surrounded by a large group of people while we were kissing each other.

The feeling had only intensified when I felt Jack's strong arms wrap around my waist and returned my kiss. I expected the audience to cease their applause, but even through our intimate moment I could only hear their cheers become louder.

When we had broken apart I looked around the Juice Bar to see that everyone was giving us their brightest smiles of joy and happiness for the two of us. Some of the girls in the back were even crying at the sight of me in Jack's arms. As the two of us smiled and thanked the audience with appreciation in our faces the cheering slowly died down and Kacey had reappeared at the stage, which I could see from her slightly pink eyes that she was probably crying from Jack's performance as well.

"Oh my god, wasn't that something or what?!" she said in pure joy, and the audience responded with a loud cheer for Jack. "Well as beautiful and astouding as that performance was, we still have one more to see. This next performer is new here in town but sounds like he came from a band that hit the billboard charts!" her gaze had fixed in the far left corner of the Juice bar. "Please give it up, for Daniel Grigori!"

My heart had clenched in almost recognition at that name.

_Daniel..._

* * *

**_Song used in chapter: Here without you by Three Doors Down._**


	6. Chapter 6

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

* * *

Five: Forgotten

He had risen from his seat at one of the tables in the far left corner of the Juice Bar. He wore slim denim jeans and a dark shirt underneath a thin black leather jacket. I could see that he was tall even from how far away me and Jack were sitting from him.

He had dark blonde hair that had looked almost golden when he passed a ray of sunlight that crept into view through one of the tall windows. And those eyes of his. I couldn't tell if they were either dark blue or even the slightest shade of violet.

His facial features looked so strong and delicate at the same time. The line of his jaw had a blunt set and the muscles in his neck seemed so tense that he could turn and notice the slightest bit of danger in his presence. His face had looked very smooth and lightly tanned, almost the way Jack's was. The look in his eyes had revealed that they held a grand amount of wisdom, and the slightest hint of sorrow and loss.

Daniel had looked so achingly familiar to me, as if I had probably seen or met him before but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. _Where had I heard his name before?_

He inched closer to the stage that Jack had just performed his own heart out to me with his song. With the alluring presence Daniel had given off, I couldn't even tell what he might even be playing for karaoke.

When he sat on the stool in the front-center of the stage, he had put on the most casual face that was completely different than the one he had just worn seconds ago. With just that cool-dangerous look in his mysteriously colored eyes, some of girls in the back of the Juice Bar began to whisper among themselves.

Lifting the store guitar that Jack had just played on, he brought his face closer to the mic and spoke.

"Uh, hey guys," he began. I was pretty shocked by how soft and settled his deep voice was. At the same time, I began to become very curious as to how he sounded when he would sing. "Well as you all know, I am new here in town and just settled in a place right down the street from here." Down the street? He probably lived not that far from me. "Once I heard about this place from this cute girl I met, who told me about the free karaoke performances, I thought I should give it a try. Though I won't promise I'll sound as good as that other guy did." He showed the slightest bit of a grin as the audience gave him a quiet laugh. So he had a little bit of a sense of humor huh? I guess he doesn't seem as distant to the world as he lets on. "This song's... been one of my personal favorites for a while now, and I really hope you guys like it." With that, he motioned his right hand to the strings of the guitar and his left to the frets, and began to delicately strum the strings. I recognized the song before the eighth note roll of his strumming. It was _Your Guardian Angel _by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

His strumming began a bit slower than the actual tempo of the song. I could tell by the graceful movements of his hands against the guitar and the look in his dark violet eyes that this would be coming from his heart. He slowly brought his face closer to the mic.

_When I see your smile_  
_Tears run down my face_  
_I can't replace_

I was completely surprised at how beautifully mid-toned his singing was considering how much of a deep voice he had when he spoke.

_And now that I'm stronger I've figured out_

_How this world turns cold_  
_And breaks through my soul_  
_And I know, I'll find deep inside me_  
_I can be the one_

He added just the right amount of tone and length to each note that he sang, it was almost like listening to it on the radio. As perfect as it could ever be.

_I will never let you fall_  
_I'll stand up with you forever_  
_I'll be there for you through it all_  
_Even if saving you sends me to Heaven_

His strumming and shifts between chords against the strings and frets of the guitar remained so delicate, creating the most peaceful melody. The longing tone in his voice had brought forth so much emotion to his performance, I glanced around and saw that all eyes of the audience were carefully fixed on him as he continued the song.

_It's okay, it's okay, it's okay_

After the eigth note roll of the last note he sang, his eyes had wandered about the Juice Bar. As if he were looking for the person he was truly performing this song for. From what I could make out based upon the aura his presence brought, I knew that behind the mask that he wore there was someone behind it who was good. What could be the cause as to how sad he had looked? _Who would ever break the heart of someone so beautiful?_

_Seasons are changing and waves are crashing_  
_And stars are falling all for us_  
_Days grow longer and nights grow shorter_  
_I can show you, I'll be the one_

_I will never let you fall_  
_I'll stand up with you forever_  
_I'll be there for you through it all_  
_Even if saving you sends me to Heaven_

The entire time as he sang, his eyes had been focused in one direction, as if imagining the person he was singing this to was right in front of him.

_'Cause you're my, you're my_  
_You're my-y-y-y_  
_My true love, my whole heart_  
_Please don't throw that away_

His strumming began to rise and become louder as he had approached the bridge of the song.

_'Cause I'm here for you_  
_Please don't walk away_  
_And please tell me, you'll stay_

_Stay_

He had done the most powerful but soft rise and fall between notes as he sang.

_Use me as you will_  
_Pull my strings just for a thrill_  
_And I know, I'll be okay_  
_Though my skies are turning gray_

He sang the last chorus in the same longing tone as he had done in the beginning, but the almost hurting look in his face becoming more apparent.

_I will never let you fall_  
_I'll stand up with you forever_  
_I'll be there for you through it all_  
_Even if saving you sends me to Heaven_

_I will never let you fall_  
_I'll stand up with you forever_  
_I'll be there for you through it all_  
_Even if saving you sends me to Heaven_

The last line he sang held the softest note to the final verse in the song. All the emotions that he desperately held onto while he began singing the song just seemed to have disappeared, as if the pain they had brought was never even there.

The entire audience had risen from their seats, an had clapped and cheered loudly for Daniel's performance. He was slightly amazed as to how everyone applauded to him. I was the only one in the Juice bar that had remained seated.

The emotions that I was feeling from Daniel's performance were completely unexplainable. My heart had felt like someone had their fist locked in a tight grip on it, preventing it from beating as it desperately struggled and held on for life. My entire being felt like it had just taken all the emotions that Daniel had released when performing his song, burring the one's that I held on for Jack.

One tear had slowly escaped from the corner of my right eye. It clawed at my cheek with its limbless body as it fell, in attempt to prevent itself from falling to the floor, forever being lost.

I caught it with the back of my index finger and wiped it away before Jack would notice. _Or even Daniel._

I carefully looked at the remains of my fallen tear. _Why does this action seem so familiar? Shouldn't someone else have wiped away this tear? _I stared in wonder at the teardrop as if it could possible hold the answer. But then I quickly wiped it on the shoulder of my shirt before Jack had looked back down to me. It was hard to also wipe away the almost hurt expression on my face that I knew Jack could see, and then he began to look a bit worried.

"Hey, what's the matter babe?" He tried putting on a smile to hide his worried expression, and then sat down in his seat beside me, putting a strong arm around me.

"Nothing, really. Just haven't heard that song in a while." I leaned into his warm touch, trying to escape the cold where I found myself in the almost memoir that Daniel just sang.

"Yeah," Jack looked taken aback, "Didn't I play that song with you before summer break?" He looked slightly shocked and sad at his discovery.

"The day after finals were over," I said, remembering the day as if it were just yesterday, but now feeling as if it were an eternity ago.

"Gosh, feels like such a long time ago." His arm around me had tightened a bit, securing me to him in the familiar action that I missed so dearly over the summer.

I turned my head away from the stage where Daniel was already off, and had gone to the back of the Juice Bar to get a drink at the counter. Locking my eyes with Jack's bright green ones, I guided my lips to his in a soft tendered kiss. Feeling the softness and warmth from them I began to massage my lips with his in a nice steady rhythm. Any fears I had about showing public displays of affection with Jack were gone as I drifted away into the kiss. When we broke apart Jack had given me his usual bright grin and kissed my on the forehead.

He then directed his attention to where Daniel was sitting at one of the stools by the front counter in the Juice Bar, and was conversing with Kacey sharing a few laughs and smiles together.

"Hey, maybe we should go over and meet him," Jack looked back me with a look of approval in his eyes.

"Uh, sure, why not," I tried not to sound nervous. I couldn't let go of the feeling that I had seen Daniel from somewhere. Maybe at the library? The Bookstore just down the street, right across from it? _Maybe even a dream? _

We both had risen from our tables, leaving behind our finished drinks to be picked up later, and walked in the direction where Daniel and Kacey were talking amongst one another. Kacey had seen we were just behind where Daniel was sitting and her face had lit up a bit, her light brown eyes and chestnut-brown hair complimenting her positive aura.

"Oh, these were the guys I was talking about. The Juice Bar's finest musicians in the flesh." Her smile had always seemed to have lightened up any moment.

Daniel had turned around to face us and his violet eyes looked at us suspiciously, as if he was putting up his guard. But then he had given a sly grin to his guarded presence.

"This is Jackson Welch, trust me he looks intimidating up close, but deep down under all that hard muscle is a delicate little bear cub." She gave Jack a silly smile winking at him in a friendly manner.

Jack held out his hand to Daniel and glanced over at Kacey, returning her humorous face.

"Just call me Jack, everyone else does." He looked back at Daniel casually as if they were already good friends, and then held out his hand and shook Jack's in a strong hold.

"Nice to meet you Jack," He didn't let down his guard despite how welcoming we were to him. Could anything help bring his guard down and assure him there's nothing to be defensive about?

"This is Luke," Jack had gestured to me with his arm, "my uh, boyfriend." Kacey looked surprised, and also couldn't help but let a wide smile of joy escape her face. Daniel didn't seem to care about our relationship what so ever, but still help out his hand to greet me.

"Nice to meet you Luke," I took his strong-warm hand in mine. The second our hands had made contact, a spark had ignited inside me, lighting a fire somewhere long forgotten. A voice had echoed in my mind, one that was alien to me but also familiar.

_Daniel... I found you._

Pieces of images and faces were coming back to me at once._A girl waiting on a bridge from what looked like was inside London, and then tightly embraced by a tall boy with broad shoulders._ _A girl in a gazebo, beautifully lit with lanterns and candles while she was slow dancing, with the same boy. _

It all happened in but a mere second, and I was brought back to having my hand inside Daniel's strong warm one. I didn't know exactly how long I was holding it, but then quickly I had let go.

Daniel had then taken a long look at me in the eyes, as if he were looking into my soul. And just for a second I thought he had let the slightest amount of his guard down, to finally see that I was not a threat to him. But my attention was immediately drawn to his dark violet eyes. I couldn't exactly explain the look that they held. They looked as if they had held almost horror in them. Had he seen what I had just witness from our physical contact? Why was I seeing all of those images from his touch, and why now?

I tried to seem casual as I greeted him in return, trying not to seem bewildered by his touch.

"It's nice to meet you too, Daniel."

* * *

"Are you guys sure you want to leave so soon?" Kacey looked both sad and a little disappointed with her small pout.

"Kace we've been here for almost three hours." Jack tried to reason here with a smirk.

Right after meeting with the mysterious and alluring Daniel Grigori, Jack and I had gone back to our table and talk with Kacey for a while to catch up on how things were going, and about mine and Jack's new relationship. Even with the time we spent here we couldn't even get through half of what we both did over the summer.

In the middle of Kacey and Jack conversing with one another I turned to the spot at the front counter of the Juice Bar where Daniel had sat. Only to see that the spot was empty and Daniel Grigori was no where to be seen.

"Aw, I know," she said still giving her sad face, "It's just been so long since I've seen you guys here."

"Don't worry Kace," I said to her reassuringly, "we'll come back soon enough." I gave her a small smile.

"Good," she said in her cheery voice, that sad pout of hers gone in a flash, "and next time maybe our other favorite musician could play something for us too."

"Who knows, maybe I will," I sounded a bit nervous. I had never actually played a performance before without Jack.

"Okay. You two love birds have fun." She gave us both a hug goodbye before me and Jack left out the doors and headed to the park just down the street.

As we walked along the familiar path inside the park, Jack stepped closer to me and slipped his hand into mine. Just the one touch alone had enveloped me in so much of his warmth. I clasped my hand in his, tightening my hold as I interlocked my fingers in the small crevices of his knuckles.

With autumn here in the season, the humidity in Georgia had greatly decreased. Now with cool dry air swaying in the breezes that would pass us by as we walked under the Spanish moss and weeping willow trees. Their long hanging branches gently waving in the breeze like soft delicate hair.

Jack had began walking in a different direction in the park, guiding me along as he did. I could see now that we were now headed to the gazebo in the middle of the park, just across from the large fountain with beautifully carved angel statues sitting by the water spouts and crying into their hands. The gazebo wasn't too big, it was about the size of a room lined with a bench right bellow the hand carved ivory wooden railing.

There were quite a few times Jack and I would spend an hour or two here about a coupe times a week. We both liked listening to the sounds. Birds softly singing their high noted chirps, and the leaves on the trees gently rattling against one another in the on coming breeze.

"Wow, I really missed this place," I said, as I took a seat on the wooden bench inside the gazebo. There were a few dried up leaves on the bench that I gently wiped off with my hand. Jack took a seat right beside me, and wrapped a large arm protectively around my shoulder, securing me to him.

"Did you ever come here during the summer?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, but only a few times, once was with Lucie." I leaned into him as his arm around me tightened more. It seemed no matter how close we always were, we'd still be able to find ways of leaning in to one anther even further.

"I really missed you Luke," His whispered softly in his deep voice.

"I really missed you too Jack," I wrapped my arms around his waist pulling myself closer to him, and rested my head against his warm and toned chest.

For once since this entire day, we shared a gesture with one another that was so familiar to the both of us, that I had thought for certain it would probably be lost. It seemed in some way, that despite how we felt about each other now, nothing ever really changed between us. I guess I've discovered an entirely new way that love works. Nothing is every truly forgotten.

* * *

"So what did you even do over the summer, when we always hung out over break?" Jack asked questionably.

We had gotten back from the park in his car a few hours ago and had already changed into our night clothes. Me with a faded long-sleeve shirt with sweat pants, and Jack with a tight black t-shirt that revealed his well defined muscles in his chest and arms, along with a pair of shorts that had me bewildered by how cold it was getting.

We were now sitting close to each other outside my living room balcony on the small bench in front of the metal railing. We gazed out upon the wide view of Savannah's green trees that stretch as far out to the next town, miles away from this very spot. The sun was almost setting and twilight was approaching.

"I mostly read a lot of new books," I began while resting my head on his shoulder, savoring the gorgeous view of the suns light rays against the tree leaves and dark grey rain clouds, creating that beautifully dark green sea that only appeared every morning and before night. "Pretty much just tried to take my mind off some things."

"Like _me_?" He grunted, sounding a bit hurt.

"Not like that." I tried reasoning with him.

"Okay, okay, I understand," He said jokingly.

"I don't really remember that much though, this summer seemed like it just flew by."

"Yeah," he said, sounding taken aback, "but it felt long for me, without you there." He wrapped his arm over me and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.

Over the summer, Jack and his mother had visited some relatives and old friends all the way across the country in California. Which prevented him from even hunting me down in the small town of Savannah for the little communication I had given him over break.

They returned the day before school started, but he hadn't come over to my house and confronted me there. He probably thought it'd be better to do it at somewhere public like school where he wouldn't get too mad about it.

And was I ever glad he did, because things might not have turned out the way they had done now.

"Well I'm here now," I said, positioning my head so that I was now looking at him in his forest green eyes, and gave him a small smile.

With his arm over my shoulder, he had brought me closer to him and gave me a short but sweet kiss, right on my lips.

"Good," he said with a smirk, "and I'm not letting you go anytime soon."

With that said, I had let my tips of my fingers wander slightly against his dark t-shirt that covered his nicely toned chest.

"So, would you like to stay over for another night?" I asked, trying to sound a bit seductive.

Jack let out a long sigh, and brought his lips to mine in a longing kiss that I so dearly wanted to become more passionate.

"As much as I want to," he began after breaking away, sounding a bit disappointed, "I really wouldn't want to make a bad impression on your mom."

"What are you talking about? She won't mind." I really wanted him to stay with me.

"I know Luke. I just think maybe we should, you know, take things a little more slow." The look in his eyes seemed pleading to his request.

"Alright," I said, accepting his request, but then had given him the slight mischievous smile. Throwing him off guard, I pounced over on his lap, locking my arms behind his broad shoulders and crashed my lips against his in a passionate kiss.

I had expected him to pull away slightly, but then his strong arms almost immediately wrapped around my back and he returned my kiss. Even with me sitting on top of his lap, I still had to straighten my back so that my lips could meet his. I slowly eased my tongue into his mouth and massaged it against his own, relishing in his sweet and spicy taste.

He had let out a rough moan inside my mouth as our kiss had started to become more intimate. Running my hands through his soft brown hair I had gripped it slightly as a way of holding on to him and keeping our kiss intact. We had ceased small amounts of breaths in between breaks of the kiss, and dove right back into each other.

After a short time into our passionate kiss, he had placed his hands on my shoulders and gently pulled me away from him. My lips had almost released a charged electric current being disappointed as they were forcefully separated from his.

When I had opened my eyes and saw his face, he had almost a pained look on his face and he was panting through his nostrils, as if trying to draw out his uncomfortableness with every new breath. I was worried that maybe he didn't like this surprise attack and began to feel guilty for rushing in too soon.

"Jack... what's wrong?"

"Ughh... nothing really... uhh." He tightened his hand on my shoulder but still didn't pull farther away from me.

"Jack, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rush into this, I-"

"No, no. It's not that." He began to sink back into the bench, trying to put any sort of distance between us without too much movement.

That was when I began to feel pressure beneath where I was sitting... right on top... of Jack's lap...

"Ooh!" I exclaimed. I could feel that my face was turning red and Jack was trying to look in a different direction other than looking me in the eyes at our current, _situation_.

"Oh god, this is embarrassing." Jack tried to cover his embarrassment with a laugh.

"What is?" I asked. "Getting an erection from your boyfriend? I'm pretty sure that's a normal thing to experience." I said jokingly.

"Yeah." He replied in the same tone. "Getting an erection from my boyfriend, who was my best friend for almost four years, and who I loved practically like a brother for all that time. Yeah, that's what's a little embarrassing."

All the while I could still feel the pressure against me as we spoke.

"Woah," I said, trying to sound amazed, and slightly moved my hips against his lap, " Is it still getting... bigger?"

"Oh god Luke, please stop." He sounded a bit desperate for this moment to pass, tightening his grip on my shoulders.

As his embarrassment grew so did my joking.

"Or else what? We'll end up having sex on my living room balcony? My mom wont be home for another two hours, why not?"

"Please, Luke." he shut his eyes tight still trying to shy away from our situation.

"I'm just kidding Jack," I said with a involuntary laugh. And then I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pulling my body closer to his warmer one and rested my head against his shoulder.

He had let out a small sigh and returned my embrace, securing his strong arms around me, and the pressure beneath me slowly beginning to subside.

While we had continued to just hold one another, I could feel the cool autumn breeze passing through the nearby trees, and slowly crept on to the balcony and ran its cool fingers through my clothes and hair. I hadn't realized I began to shake and shiver before Jack had secured his strong arms around me even more.

"We should get back inside, I don't want you catching a cold out here." He said in a soft settled voice.

"I'll never be cold, as long as I'm with you." I gripped the back of his shirt with my hands.

"Hmph," I heard him grunt, "So are we gonna stay like this for a while then?" he asked, while I was still on top of his lap.

"Carry me inside?" I pleaded with him.

"Alright," he complied.

And then I had wrapped my legs around his waist and secured my arms over his broad shoulders as he had sat up and lifted me from the bench. It felt a little weird cause it was almost like he was carrying a little kid.

"Where too?" I heard him whisper behind me, his warm breath tickling the back of my neck.

"My room?" I hesitantly asked back.

"Luke-..."

"I know," I began, "you said you wanted to take things slow. But, if you won't stay with me, as my boyfriend, then... could you stay as my best friend then?"

I heard Jack sigh under his breath, and then he gently rubbed his head against mine, entangling our hair as I felt his softly brushing against my scalp.

"Of course I will Luke." He said in a longing tone, and I could even sense his smile with those words.

Walking with grace, he had carefully carried me down the long hall of our apartment, and entered the door frame of my room. He had turned on the small lamp that I had right on top of my nightstand by my black sheeted bed.

Resting his knee on the side of the bed he had gently set me on the cool comforter and resting my head against one of the two pillows, the warmth from my him began escaping with both of their contact. I could see that he was beginning to position himself to sit on the side of the bed, away from me. I had reached out and held his wrist with my hand to prevent him from distancing himself from me, feeling his warmth from the touch.

"Lay with me..." I asked.

He had given me his warm smile and crawled on top of the bed, positioning himself right beside me. His forest green eyes resting on my hazel ones, and with his strong hand had slowly pushed some black wavy hair away from my eyes. He then had leaned in closer to me. I expected him to kiss me on my forehead but was happy that his soft warm lips had found my own instead.

After slightly pulling away from me, he rested his forehead against mine, pouring his warmth into me, one touch at a time.

"I love you so much, Lucian Price." He spoke softly, those luminous green eyes of his gazing at me.

"I love you so much too, Jackson Welch." I said back to him.

I pulled myself closer to him, burring face in to his warm heat radiating chest. I slowly drifted off into a sleep, that felt like a peaceful death.

* * *

_Helston England, November 1854_

_It was a very cold cloudy late afternoon in our small town. I walked along the short road that his home was not too far from in a thick silken robe over my dress as a way to keep warm, although I'd never need to stay warm while I was in_ his _arms._

_I could see off in to the distances beyond the leafless winter trees that the clouds formed a mist like haze, signaling that rain was slowly approaching us very soon._

_A soft breeze had passed by me as it lifted the clothing material on me, along with my long black wavy hair dancing in the wind almost like a dark cape. Although it was a nice breeze it still sent a shiver through my body. I was nearing closer to _his _house and so dearly wanted to see him._

He _and his family had been away for the past few weeks, and he had just returned alone. He had told me that his parents would be returning the following week, so we had the next few days all to ourselves. To just be together with one another in private was the most happiest feeling I had ever felt in my life. It was the one and only time when we didn't have to worry about how our families would react to and hate the love we had shared._

_We had a well thought out plan to escape with each other once we are older. He will work in a farm in a couple towns away from here that payed handsomely, and I would work in a bakery where he would eat every morning, and say his farewells and kiss me goodbye as he left for work. _

_Together we would live a happy simple life away from the wealth and hatred from our families. Although some people would thrive in a life filled with wealth, a life filled with joy and endless love from_ him_ held more than all the wealth that both of our families had shared combined._

_As I had rounded the large and tall metal gates that protected his house I could see that something was wrong. In the front courtyard of his home, there were carriages being filled with chests and large bags._

_I would have expected things to be unpacked and brought back into his house and for things to be settled down._

_Stepping through the grand open gates I began making my way closer to all of the carriages that were being directed by the townsmen, and was just about to ask what all of this suddenness was about._

_"Lucinda?" I heard his voice in almost shock. I turned around and saw that he was in casual pants along with a white buttoned shirt that had greatly expressed his broad shoulders. His tanned skin and golden hair were vibrant even in the dimness from the grey clouds above us. I looked into his dark but clear violet eyes in worry._

_"Daniel... what is the meaning of this? Why are all of those men putting all of your families belongings inside of those carriages." I attempted to push back the fear in my voice, but had failed in the process._

_He had looked away from me, and I could see there was a grand amount sorrow behind those wondrous eyes of his._

_"Daniel?" I choked out a plea._

_"My family," he had began, "we are... we are leaving." He still did not look me in the eyes when he had spoken._

_"Leaving?" I had astonished, trying to make him look me in my eyes, "but, but why?"_

_"It is...difficult to explain Lucinda." He said._

_"Difficult how?" I had questioned him, feeling that my eyes were now glossy with what I could feel were my tears threatening him to fall by his words._

_Now he had looked me in my eyes and began to walk forth to me. Once he was standing right in front of me, towering over me by his height, he lifted a strong warm hand and had rested it against my cold cheek. _

_"Because it is for the best." He said softly_

_"How could this possibly be for the best?" I almost screamed, raising my voice. In the wake of my last words, one tear had managed to escape from my right eye. It felt as if it had regretted its fall and clawed at my cheek as a way of preventing itself from falling to the ground. With his thumb, Daniel had caught and wiped away my fallen tear with his warm touch._

_"It is for the best, because..." he had paused, as if the next words he would speak would be the most painful I would have to hear, "because I am never coming back."_

_One more tear had escaped my from the corner of my eye. This time Daniel had let it fall to the ground, forever being forgotten._


	7. Chapter 7

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

* * *

Six: Descend

_Helston England, October 1854_

_It had only been three weeks since Daniel had left. Though the fracture in my heart felt as if it were caused by an eternity of his absence. For most of the time he had gone and left, I couldn't help but wonder why he would even want to leave. We had been together for nearly an entire year, and the way he would hold and kiss me felt so divine that I knew for certain that he truly loved my. Why would he choose now of all times to slip away when our entire lives together were nearly displayed out right before us?_

_When I looked into his eyes at the moment he said he would never be coming back, I knew they were not the words he had wished to say. There was a pained and longing look in those dark violet blue eyes of his. I had heard from a few of the townsfolk that he was journeying to the Americas alone. My heart had clenched when I made this discovery, he would be half an entire world away from me. The very echo of his name became to unbearable to whisper or even think about._

_No letters from him had been sent to me, an almost promise as to him never returning back. _

_I had not played on my piano in such a long time, even when we were still together. The long days we would spend alone in peace and serenity would leave me very little time at home before I'd become weary to even play a single note to define our days together. But now, I have all the more reason to play. The emotions flooding my heart and soul yearned for some form of release._

_The piano in my music room had collected a moderate amount of dust. I had gently with my hands wiped away the remnants of the dust cause by _our_ time together. The reason behind my absence from sitting on the stool, and my hands placed over the smooth and polished ivory keys. As I examined the lonely grand instrument, I knew that I couldn't play here. This was the place that _he_ would watch and listen to me play, closing his eyes as he lost himself in a reverie born from the euphoria I created with the infinite echos from the cloth cover mallets gently striking the metal strings. I needed to play somewhere new just this time in hope of moving on._

_There is a small music theater in town that is very rarely used. I had once played inside of it on the old wooden baby grand piano for a concert the town had organized because I was the only pianist that lived here. The entire town had come just to see me play Moonlight Sonata and a piece that I had written myself. The whole theater was swarmed with the townsfolk that many people had to stand by the seats due to not enough being left._

_I slowly walked through small townshop areas and neared the small theater. I clutched my silken robe closer to me from the cold October autumn winds that left my fingertips wan and numb. The theater was an old building that had faded wood that from my current distance I could see splinters chipped from the old and worn wood. I entered the door frame and walked down the small isle of chairs towards the small steps that led to the stage beholding the old piano._

_Even from the new and perfectly polished one at home, I still favored this one more. I loved the idea of how old it was and all the people that could have sat upon and played on the darkened ivory keys. What used to have been white from they keys was now an almost faded brown color and a few of the keys had small chipped ends._

_Running my hands on the rough faded ivory, I sat down on the small cushioned stool and gently placed my hands over the keys and began to play. The piano had remained tuned despite how little it was used. As I played, I looked for the perfect cords that expressed the emotions I had now felt, and then a melody arises from my lips and I begin to sing softly._

_It is a very trebled octave tune and the further I played and sang along, words began to immerse._

Come on skinny love, just last the year  
Pour a little salt, we were never here  
My my my, my my my mymymy my  
Staring at the sink of blood  
and crushed veneer

Tell my love to wreck it all  
Cut out all the ropes and let me fall  
My my my, my my my mymymy my  
Right in the moment this order's tall

And I told you to be patient  
And I told you to be kind  
And I told you to be balanced  
And I told you to be kind  
And now all your love is wasted  
Then who the hell was I?  
Cause now I'm breaking at the britches,  
and at the end of all your lines

Who will love you?  
Who will fight?  
And who will fall, far behind?..

_As I played the last whole note I knew that there was more to be said, but it was all to much to bear. My hands had left the pale brown worn Ivory and cradled my face as I began to cry. Soft whispered sobs had involuntarily escaped my lips as the sorrow kept in my heart escaped from its fracture. Tears had flowed down my cold cheeks and warmed them as they glided down to neck._

_"That was beautiful..." A soft but deep voice had said from behind me, where the side exit door was. Although the voice was almost a whisper, it still startled me with a loud gasp sucked between my teeth and lips._

_I quickly turned my head behind me to see a tall boy about my age standing right bellow the steps of the stage. _

_"My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you," he said kindly, and slowly walked up the few steps of the stage and stepped just a few feet away from where I was sitting on the stool. I could see now in the light from the candled lamps that he wore old and torn clothes with smears of dirt and stains in them, and the footwear he wore was torn and slowly falling apart._

_I knew from the attire that he wore that he worked on the farm lands outside of Helston. The farmers here are paid very little and work for the majority of the day and only have the chance to rest on the weekends. Bathing and clothes are occasionally too expensive for them to have, so sometimes they are left with old clothing and have pretty poor hygiene._

_Apart from how unsettling his clothing made him appear, his physical features were a sight to behold. _

_He had very broad shoulders which could only have been caused through countless hours of farm working and h is skin was beautifully tanned like freshly churned caramel. Light brown wavy hair had fell over his forehead that slightly hid luminous forest green eyes._

_"I was just on my way back from delivering bread to the convenience store, and then I heard you playing and singing as I passed the theater. You have a very beautiful voice." He smiled warmly at me. His lips had light natural pink color to them and his facial hair had grown out slightly, making him appear older than he truly was. But then his warm smile slowly turned into a worried line. "Were... were you, crying?"_

_"Oh, um, yes, I am sorry," I said, quickly wiping away the wet rails of tears from my cheeks. " I've just, not been feeling all to well at present. I have to return home now so, forgive me." I rose from the stool preparing to walk out the side door from he probably came from._

_"No, please wai-" he began as I arose. But then the bottom of my white peony sewn dress was caught on a chipped piece of the floor boards, causing me to step on top of it and losing my sense of balance. And then I began to fall forward. _

_I closed my eyes as I imagined my knees crashing to the floor followed by my crippled body, but then I felt strong thick arms protectively surround my entire torso. My body was slowly descended to the floor for a moments rest and then gathering my senses, I felt warmth radiating from the body that held my own. The large muscles in his arms and chest were tense and flexed from breaking my fall. Despite from how poorly unclean he appeared to be, he had a very faint sweet and almost spicy scent, like mint and cinnamon. I slightly pulled away so that i could face him, but my body had missed his warmth._

_"My, that was very close," he said facing me with a careful smile. I was completely mesmerised by how much more grand and beautiful his features were up close. His green eyes were more lustrous and pure, and his sweet sent was stronger, filling my senses with him. My heart had involuntarily began to beat faster causing my breathing to accelerate from my lips. I could feel heat rising in my cheeks, signalling that they were turning red. _

_But then, I couldn't help but have a sense of familiarity in his eyes. Had I gazed at them once before? Were they just like Daniel's? No. I thought to myself. This boys eyes were completely different from his. But they still felt all too familiar._

_"Um, pardon me for saying this," he said in the middle of my thoughts, "But... you are very beautiful." He gazed back at me with a similar look in his eyes that mine held. A breath had escaped my lungs from his comment and then he tucked a long section of black wavy hair behind my ear. "What is your name?" he asked softly._

_"Lucinda." I whispered to him, trying to slow down my breathing._

_"Lucinda," he whispered back to me, the sound of his voice had almost added meaning to my name._ Just like the way Daniel used to say it. _He brought both of his dry, calloused, dirt covered hands to my to my cheeks. I should have been appalled and disgusted by his touch, but the warmth that I missed from his body had returned through his large strong hands. And his touch was all too familiar to me to push away. "Please," he whispered again as his warm hands were gently secured around my cheeks, his worried expression returning, "forgive me for doing this."_

_And he slowly brought his lips down to mine in a soft tendered kiss._

_His lips were surprisingly soft and smooth considering how dry and cold it was just outside. The warmth that radiated from his body began flooding into me just through his lips. I still had not pushed him away, and I didn't entirely know why. His warmth, his touch, his sent, his kiss. All of these features held some ounce of memory in my mind behind them, behind _him_. _

_I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and began to kiss him back, massaging my lips against his. His taste had a great resemblance to his sent, and I savored every moment, every stroke of his tongue against mine. His own arms came around my waist, and I could feel the strong muscles in them flex as he pressed our bodies together, making me feel so safely secured and warm. The quick gasps for air we made in between the kiss did not last long and we were forced to part away. His breathing had matched the quick tempo of mine and he still held me close to him._

_"Tell me I'm mad," he began, looking me in the eyes with those bright iridescent green ones, "but, I swear that I've been right here before."_

_"No," I said back to him, my hands now falling to rest on his thick chest, "this feels very familiar for me too."_

_He let out a small breath of relief at my words. "Thank god," he said with that warm smile I began to grow fond of, "I was afraid you would strike me upon the face and scream out calling me a monster."_

_I place my smaller hand against his warm cheek, feeling the hairs on his face prickle against my touch. The face that he wore had showed so much kindness that I couldn't help but admire its beauty. His eyes, mouth, and face carried such delicate features apart from how physically strong he appeared. "Never," I said back to him. How could I strike and and ruin such delicate beauty from such a kind soul. "However," I said to him, not being able to hold back a smile, "I do find it very rude of you not to even give your _own_ name before you kiss a lady."_

_"My dearest apologies madam," he responded, laughing slightly under his breath, "my name is Joaquin. My family had came here from Spain long before I was born, that's basically why its a very strange and foreign name here in England." he said, trying to hide the shyness in his smile._

_"I think its a very nice name, it suits you well." My hand on his cheek hand wandered to his soft light brown hair, and I gently ran my fingers across the side of his temple._

_"Thank you, Lucinda," he said, his eyes gleaming with from what I could see from our recent act of intimacy, was _love_. "But, please," he asked kindly, "call me Jack."_

* * *

**_Song used in chapter: Skinny Love by Bon Ivor._**


	8. Chapter 8

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

* * *

Seven: Misguided

The dream wasn't what had woken me the night. It was the agonizing and defining scream that came from the living room.

"LUUUKE! LUUUKE!"

My name had echoed from all across the apartment building and rippled against my ear drums.

I immediately rose from my bed and Jack followed me not a millisecond later. The look in his eyes could only be described as pure terror and disbelief at the sheer screeching sound escaping my sisters delicate voice.

Without a seconds thought the bed sheets were off my body and my feet were hammering against the ice-cold smooth linoleum floor. The door frame to my room felt as if it were a mile away from my bed. No matter how quickly my feet skidded across the floor it always seemed as if I couldn't get to Lucie in time. When I finally reached the hallway, my head turned in all directions scanning the almost pitch black space. I never needed light to find her, it was a special connection we always shared. We would know if the other was right behind us or just a night terror away.

"PLEASE LUKE! MAKE THEM STOP! I CAN'T SEE I CAN'T SEE!"

I rounded the corner that gave a full view of the living room and its appliances and flipped the light switch on. Right there on the other the coffee table in front of the couch, was my sister in a shaking curled fetal position. Her long cascading black hair coiled all around her body and the ivory white cloth of her night gown that hung over her legs making her appear almost ghost like. Blood had slowly trickling down theft side of her temple and some crimson drops had dripped to the faded grey tiled floor.

"I'm burning Luke... I'm... I'm burning" There was such agony in her sobbing and choking voice that begged for comfort.

I slid across the floor on my knees and took her in to my arms. Her body was so cold it left the parts of my skin that touched her numb. I wrapped my legs around her small form as an effort to give and preserve more warmth for her, and also to help her feel secure as this would always calm her down in minutes.

"Shhshh, it's okay Lucie, I'm right here, I'm right here see, Lucie, please look at me" I gently whispered to her and brought my hands up to cradle her face bringing it in front of mine. My eyes were locked on to hers, but her eyes had wandered all about, not yet back to reality from her night terror. My hand had touched the cool wetness left from the blood on the left side of her face. I could feel my skin crawl with goosebumps at both the sight and touch of my own sister's blood.

Her cold-shaking clammy hands that were secured to her chest had left and tightly constricted around my waist. Her small body had nearly fused with my own by how close she was to me and I could feel how fast her hear was beating, as if it were trying to escape the night terror that followed her in the dark. As I began whispering words of comfort in her ear and stroking the top of her head, I could feel the shaking of her body begin to decease and the tempo of her trembled breathing slow down to one long solid breath in and out every few seconds.

It began shortly after our seventeenth birthday that these night terrors had preyed on Lucie in her sleep. Exactly how the mysterious but unexplainable dreams cradled me in _my_ sleep. I always thought of it unfair that I was the one swept away by peaceful romantic dreams, and _my_ Lucie was snatched by these horrid night terrors that I felt I could almost relive in the dying scrams in her voice.

My mother had taken her to a doctor to see what could have been the cause and they had said it could probably had been caused by a stressful life altering event. She told the doctor that our father passed away almost six years ago, but we all had healed from that event long ago. Lucie had even talked to one of the medical therapists and they had analyzed that it couldn't have been that, so they just recommended some medication and earlier sleeping arrangements.

But still, the night terrors would return.

It had never happened this bad before. Normally she would scream herself awake from a night terror and I'd be in her room in seconds, securing her shaking cold body in my arms as she'd slowly come back to reality. Now that she had wondered out of bed and hurt herself in the process, I couldn't imagine if this would continue on in the future for her.

She could fall and hit the edge of a table or the last step down a flight of stairs.

Feeling the numbing coldness of her skin still lingering I looked to the side of the hallway and saw Jack and my mother both with a look of horror in their eyes. My mothers face was wet with tears as she had both hands over the bottom half of her face.

"Mom, it's okay she's not hurt, not... not badly." Hearing my soft and calm words, she let her hands slowly leave her face with one trailing over her chest as she let out a loud sigh in relief.

I gently stroked the top of Lucie's soft wavy hair and then looked back to Jack as he still held his ground but the fear and worry in his eyes remained. I tried to control my trembling voice before I spoke to him next.

"Jack, she's ice cold, I need your help."

Without hesitation, he gracefully walked over to me and Lucie and knelt down to bring the both of us into his warm and soothing body using both of his large strong arms. Lucie's body immediately became less tense as Jack's warmth had seeped into her own, and slightly leaned into his with her arms still tightly wrapped around my waist.

I looked at the spot where her head had rested against my chest and saw a dark blotch on the old faded fabric of my shirt. From seeing that sight, I realized that needed to get her wound treated before it would keep bleeding and risk her getting an infection.

"Okay Lucie," I whispered gently in her ear, "I need to get your cut cleaned and treated so it won't get infected. Do you think you can stand and walk with me towards the bathroom?"

I heard a small mumble from her and her hands had tightened on the back of my shirt, leaving me with only one other option I would have to try to get her to the bathroom.

"It's okay Lucie," I reassured her and gently kissed the top of her head, smelling the faint Jasmine scent of her shampoo, "I'm going to have to carry you if it's too difficult to walk, do you think you can let go for a second so I can pick you up."

I felt her hands on the back of my shirt loosen their grip and her body pull slightly away. Jack had released his warm protective hold on the bot of us and allowed some room for me to pick up and carry Lucie. Shifting towards the right side of her body on the floor, I placed my left arm under both her knees and my right arm around her back and secured her cool body to mine as I slowly rose on my feet with her light body in my arms. I wasn't as big and strongly built like Jack and John but I still managed to maintain some shape with the P.E classes in my High School. As Lucie was within my grasp her right arm slung right over and behind my shoulder as a way to hang on and her other curled in towards my chest for warmth.

I began walking towards the hall from the living room where the bathroom was just beyond and passed by my mother who was still standing in the same place she was before. As I slowed down to enter the hall she slowly reached out her hand and stroked Lucie's arm that was tucked away in to my chest. The look of fear in my mother's eyes were gone for now but were replaced by a look of worry.

I heard Jack's slow but heavy steps as he followed my to the door frame of the bathroom, and upon reaching it I turned on the dimmer light from the switch on the edge of the wall and turned back to face him.

"Jack, could you hold her for just a minute, while I get some things from the drawers." He didn't need to answer. His arms were already reaching under mine to take Lucie from my hold and into his own. Lucie had accepted the shift and curled deeper into Jack's body as I'd knew that he possessed more body heat than I did. Her own body was so small compared to his. She looked like a weak and innocent child in his arms.

I knelt down on the cold tiled floor to reach the bottom drawer where we kept most of the medicine and bandages in the house. Searching across the small roes of pills and cough syrup I found the things I was looking for. A medium sized square bandage, two small butterfly stitches, and a small bag of table salt. We didn't really prefer using rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide as wounds would take longer to heal using those sterilizers.

I gestured with hand for Jack to rest on the counter of the sink as I treated Lucie's wounded temple. Grabbing a new hand towel from the rack behind the sink I ran it through warm water from the faucet for a few seconds, letting it absorb a fair amount and squeezed some of it out to avoid spillage.

I turned towards Lucie and the side of her wounded temple was faced to me while her eyes were slightly closed and drowsy with sleep. I slowly dabbed and rubbed away some of the new and dried blood from her temple and down towards the middle of her cheek. I went back to the facet and ran the towel through more water to rinse out my sisters blood. Squeezing out another small amount of warm water from the towel, I sprinkled a pinch of salt on a flat side to put over the still opened wound. I reached back over to Lucie and gently dabbed some of the salt on the towel in to her wound. I could see her eyes tightly shut from the stinging pain but slowly became more bearable for her as I could see the hazel in her eyes now.

Now that her wound was cleaned I took the two strips of butterfly stitches and pealed one off to apply. Putting one side of the stitch on unharmed skin I pulled it over to help close the small gaping cut and seal it. I repeated the process with the next stitch and carefully applied the squared bandage over the sealed wound and kissed it over the bandage.

"Thank you Luke," I heard my sister's soft delicate but drowsy voice. I reached my arms out to her and wrapped them around her, feeling the warmth from Jack's chest behind her back from his hold on her.

"Of course Lucie. But... please be more careful if this happens again." I whispered softly into her ear. I then slowly took her from Jack's warm strong arms and she secured her arm over my shoulder again, happy to be back in my own presence. "Okay now, lets get you back to bed."

"Can I sleep with you?" she asked hesitantly and buried her face in my neck causing me to feel the rough texture of the bandage on her forehead.

"Of course you can Lucie," I assured her and rested my face in her long thick black hair as I began walking back towards my own room, with the sound of Jack's slow foot steps following me from behind.

My mother was still in the hallway and I paused my walking when I passed right by her. She whispered comforting and loving words to Lucie and kissed her goodnight on the forehead, then turned to give a hug to me and then Jack.

I turned the corner in the hall towards my room and saw that my light had been turned on, probably from Jack as he couldn't find his way in the dark of the house as i could. I balanced myself as I began to climb into the bed with Lucie still in my arms and gently set her in the middle where the bed sheets were thrown off, having the right side of her body resting on the bed to avoid her bandage coming off in her sleep. The bed itself was now cold to the touch, the warmth from Jack was entirely gone and now there was another person in need of its comfort.

Lucie had released her tight hold on my shoulder knowing that there was no need to hold on anymore but still reached over and gripped the left sleeve of my shirt with her smaller hand. Whenever she would sleep with me from a bad dream ever since we were kids she would always have that same hand gripped on the left sleeve of my shirt as a baby would with their own mothers hair seeking a sense of security.

Jack had climbed into bed right behind Lucie and slowly pulled the bed sheets over the both of us. It felt so nice having Jack secure both me and Lucie in his warmth, like he was wrapping a large wing over us.

"I'm sorry I woke the both of you up," Lucie said apologetically.

"It's alright Lucie, it's over for now," I assured her while wrapping my arm around her small form with her hand still clutched to my sleeve.

"Yeah, don't worry about it little Snow White," Jack said softly and then scooted his larger warm body closer to us, "you're safe now with big ol' Jack, I'll keep all those bad dreams away from hurting you." He shifted right behind Lucie and raised a long muscled arm and placed his much larger hand over hers. She nestled her back closer to his chest seeking the warmth I could feel radiating off of him even with Lucie between us.

"Thank you Jackie," she whispered, sounding a bit drowsy with sleep, "goodnight."

"Night little Snow White," He bent his head which was positioned over hers on the pillow and gently kissed the back of her head. I loved that Jack cared so much for Lucie the same way that I did, it just made him so much more of a kind and considerate person. It was one of many things that began to accumulate my new found love for him.

His forest green eyes had found mine and a weak smile appeared on his lips, "Night Lucian," he said, his eyes drooping with weariness and leaned over Lucie's head to kiss me softly on my lips.

"Goodnight Jack," I whispered back, already feeling the fading effects of sleep fall upon my eyes. Seeing that Lucie was now safe here in my arms along with Jack holding the two of us within his own, I allowed myself to fall back asleep, with comfort in knowing that she would still be here when I awoke in the morning. And that this night would just be one more scar the both of us would bear together.

* * *

I woke in the morning to the rays of light running its warm fingers over my eyelids from where the curtains hung on the other side of my bed. As soon as my surroundings were exposed to my sight I adjusted my arms so that I could hold Lucie closer to my body, but only reached for the empty space across the mattress. Lucie was gone from the bed and I noticed that I was turned in the opposite direction from how I was before I drifted off towards sleep. I looked up on to the night stand and saw that it was already ten-thirteen on Saturday morning.

I attempted to climb out of bed and go find Lucie to make sure she was alright when I felt a large muscular arm immediately wrap around over my body. My heart skipped a beat and my breathing stopped for a split second and I nearly flinched in surprise. I had thought that I was alone in bed because Lucie and Jack were both early risers and I was almost scared as to who could possibly be in bed _with_ me.

As I regained my breath I could feel a bit of body heat radiating from the person behind me, not as much as Jack released but it was enough to calm my astonishment down and somewhat comfort me into thinking I wasn't in danger.

I looked down at the larger hand that rested atop of mine and saw that they wore rings. One was a metal engraved feather that coiled around the bottom half of the index finger, the one on the middle was a ring entirely made of small skulls stacked vertically across one another, and the last one on the ring finger was one of a demon's claw holding a blood-red brilliant cut gem.

_Jack doesn't wear rings. _I thought to myself. I could also smell that the person had the faint sent of body odor covered with a nice spiced scented deodorant. _Jack always smells like mint and cinnamon or like a used book store, nothing like this._

I slowly turned my body over to face the person behind me and could feel my shoulder pressing against a thick muscled chest and felt more of the heat radiating from the body. That was when I saw the familiar pierced ears and a thin metal ring punctured on the left side of his lip, and the dark spikey hair that stuck in almost every direction of his head.

"John?!" I exclaimed in shock.

"Hey there cutie, I see ya slept pretty well." He wore that cocky smirk that I always found humorous. I could feel the warmth from his long legs in the bed sheets noting that he probably had shorts on and saw that he wore a plain loose black t-shirt aside from the tight V-necks he normally wore.

"Yeah, I guess I did," I laughed while rubbing my still tired eyes, "when did you get here, well, how exactly did you get in my apartment?"

"Jack let me in. He went down over to the gym for his morning workout so I decided to keep ya company. When I saw that you were still in bed I just couldn't help myself," He smiled widely causing his eyes to slant, "you just looked too cute and cuddly, so I snuck in bed to cuddle with ya." He wrapped his arm around me bringing me into a tight bear hug and buried his face in my hair.

Shortly after I met John my Freshman year in High School he began to act more like an older brother to me, seeing Jack treat me with love and care caused him to grow similar feelings towards me as well. Aside from Jack, John and I did share some similar physical appearances. We both had very pale skin and dark thick hair, but where my hair was wavy his was straight, and he had dark brown eyes aside from my hazel ones, also including that John was almost half a foot taller than me.

When I first had met him I had the impression that he was like many other punk rock and heavily pierced kids, but spending more time with him helped me realize that he wasn't really like other kids. He had a very broad and open mind, and liked people for who they were on the inside instead of what cloaked them on the outside. In truth he was a very good person and a loving friend who I could always depend on and go to for a warm bear hug every now and then.

"I guess all that time away with the band on tour was really lonely for you," I pulled away slightly as far away as he'd let me and ran my hand through his soft dark spikey hair.

"Of course it was," He gave an exaggerated pained expression while leaning in to my touch, "I missed my favorite little bro. Not having a nice hug from you or even the others can leave a big guy lonely once in a while. Jack and I already shared our welcome back, but Lucie wouldn't even stand three feet from me when I came here, saying that 'she refuses to hug any guy with the slightest bit of poor hygiene'. I mean, yeah I refuse to shower every day but I maintain a decent hygiene every now and then to deserve some ounce of love." His face made a small sad pout causing me to laugh at how cute it looked on him considering he gave off the appearance of a large and tough guy.

My eyes began to wander to the one place I always tried to avoid looking at whenever I was with John, the thin scar on his left eye brow that stretched almost to his temple. It was the first thing that stood out to me when I first met him and whenever I saw the others reach out to touch it, he'd stop them without really saying anything, and if they'd asked about it his answer would be 'it happened a long time ago'.

His body began to relax and his arm around my body loosened its grip as he slowly closed his dark brown eyes and brought himself closer to me. I knew I shouldn't have done it at that moment, but I slowly reached over his arm and gently placed my index and middle finger over the smooth flesh of his scar. I expected him to flinch at my touch and immediately pull away, but he just inhaled a deep breath and stayed perfectly still. I began to delicately caress his old wound and then saw his eyes open looking at me with a sad but distant look in them.

"You never let anyone touch it," my whispered voice sounded hoarse.

"Yeah, I don't..."

"So... why haven't you stopped me, or, pushed me away?"

His larger hand came to rest on top of mine over his scar, and he looked at me with a reassuring look in his eyes now. "I could never push you away Luke, you're really like a brother to me, and I love you_. _And, when I felt you touch it," he brought a finger to the old wound, "it didn't feel like how the others touched it. When they would touch it, I could feel all the memories that it brought before, but when you touched it," he looked at me with a smile, "it felt like you healed it in some way, and all those memories that came with it too."

"How did you get it? I understand if you don't want to tell."

He still had an accepting smile on his face as he turned to face the ceiling and spoke to me. "I was eight years old," he closed his eyes, the memories probably coming back to him now, "my dad came home from drinking out, he had a very bad problem with alcohol, and my mom got into a fight with on how he dismissed both her and me and didn't care about being a part of our lives. She stormed into the kitchen with my uncle who was helping her manage the bills, and my dad just went to the living room and laid on the couch.

"I was more aware and observant of things than my parents thought and I hated the way my dad treated both of us. Then I came up to my dad, and just went off on him. Telling him that 'if you really don't care about us, just get out of our lives and fix your own damn problems'. His face turned red at me telling him that, and he sat up from the couch and punched me right in the face. The force from his fist caused me to lose balance and I fell across the living room, hitting my forehead on a large picture frame of the three of us -from when I was a baby- that was resting near the floor on the wall. I screamed as blood trickled down into my eye, my mom came at my feet crying with the phone in her hands calling the police, and my uncle knocked him out, hitting him over the head with one of his own empty beer bottles.

"A week after that, my dad went to jail for child abuse and endangerment. Mom got full custody of me, sold the house and we ended up moving here to Savannah. After my dad was scheduled to get out of jail, he never contacted us. Ever since then, I hated having this scar. It's always a constant reminder that I came from a someone like that. I just want to be a better man than he was, and never let the people I love think I don't care about them."

He brought his gaze back to me still having that grin on his face. I looked back at him with different eyes at this new discovery. Such a peaceful and beautiful soul came from someone so bitter and cold-hearted. Why did he have to be treated in such way that would probably hurt for the rest of his life?

John had seen the sadden look on my face and brought a hand up to ruffle through my hair. "Aww, common cutie," He pleaded with me light in his eyes, "please, don't feel so sad for me, this happened a long time ago it's all in the past now."

I saw the look on his face and could see that there was no pain or discomfort in his eyes. "Okay" I complied, and then I leaned up to him and placed my lips over his healed wound, feeling the warm-smoothness of the scarred skin.

"Hmph, now I don't know if it's even there anymore," he caressed a ringed finger to my face with an assuring smile.

I leaned in to him and nudged my face closer to his warm chest, inhaling his spiced sent. He placed his large arm over my body and brought me closer to him and then gently massaged the back of my head with his hand. It felt so nice to be this close with someone else like how I naturally was with Jack, giving me a sense of comfort that this particular feeling was not too difficult to come by. I lifted my free arm and wrapped it around his large frame and gripped the back of his shirt, also feeling the thick muscles in his back begin to relax under my touch.

I leaned back from his warm body and saw that his eyes were still open and fixed on me, along with subtle grin on his face. I reach with my arm that was around his frame to the top of his head to push back some unruly soft black spikes in a more settled position. Then I trailed my hand down his shoulder to the warm skin on his arm. I traced with my fingers around the large bulging bicep and saw it flex from where my fingers strayed, and then John raised his arm over his body and made the muscle bounce.

"Like what ya see?" His cocky grin only widening as his eyebrows furrowed at his comment.

"Shut up." I replied back, and slightly punched away his thick arm with a laugh. His arm came back around me and he rested his head higher on the same black pillow mine was on. He exhaled a long breath and fixed his eyes back to me and raised his hand to caress the side of my head where my hair was now shorter.

"You look so different with shorter hair now." He spoke softly.

"Yeah, I could say the same for you _Sonic the Hedgehog_," I replied, causing him to let out a laugh as he ruffled my hair again and brought me closer to him with his arm around my body.

"I missed you a lot cutie."

"I missed you too John," I leaned in to his warmth and place the side of my head against his chest, hearing the slow-steady beat of his heart and then felt his lips brush against my forehead. After lying with each other for a few more minutes I began to wonder how Lucie was doing and when Jack would be getting back. "Hey John, I think maybe we should get up now." I looked up to him.

"Aww, why now?" He pouted in complain, "I've barely had ten minutes with you to myself and now you're ready to put me aside?" He gave an almost sad puppy dog face that I couldn't help but adore.

"John," I tried to comply, "I've been in bed almost all morning and I'd really like to check on Lucie, plus I don't think Jack will be too fond of seeing me in bed with another guy."

"Ooh, alright" John gave in and threw the covers off the both of us and began getting out of bed.

"Hey, maybe just the two of us could do something later, i could go with you to your place and you could tell me more about how the tour was or show me some new songs you wrote?"

He looked back at me with a more assuring grin. "Yeah, I'd like that."

I shifted out of bed and walked out the door into the hallway with John following behind me. He brushed his warm hand against mine as he passed by me in the living room and walked towards the kitchen isle and sat on one of the stools. He looked back at me with a casual wink and then began to fiddle with his phone.

I saw Lucie sitting on the couch peacefully reading a book in her thin lilac colored robe, with her thick black wavy hair covering almost the whole top half of her body like a blanket. She looked up from her book and saw where I was standing just outside the hall, and tried to give me her brightest morning smile while trying to ignore the fact that there was a bandage on the left side of her forehead.

"Morning Luke."

"Good morning Lucie." She set the book down on the arm rest of the couch and I could see the book title, _Handle With Care _by Jodi Picoult. I smiled at seeing it, knowing that Lucie probably took it from my bookshelf because it was the only one there that she still had not yet read.

She sat up from the couch and walked right over to me and into my outstretched arms. Her body was still cool to the touch but not as ice cold as it was last night. I held her for a while longer and stroked the soft long thick layers of her long hair.

"Did you sleep better last night?"

"Yeah, thanks to you being there," She pulled away from me and I could see the brightness in her hazel eyes. Her eyes had more light green pigment in them while mine had more shades and tints of brown. She did look a lot more well now, the light inside her eyes and bright warm smile showed almost no indication of what had happened last night.

"If you want, we could, you know, talk about last night later," I spoke silently to her, trying not to let John hear.

The light in her eyes slightly dimmed and her smile began to fade. "Oh um, okay."

I brought my hand towards her face and tucked a long loose section of hair behind her ear. "I'm just so glad that you're alright."

She looked back at me more warmly at my reassurance. "I had a very nice dream when I slept with you and Jack." Her warm smile began to look slightly sad as her eyes drifted towards the floor, causing me to feel concerned.

"Then why do you look a little sad?"

"It was about dad..."

I felt my heart pause for a brief moment at her answer. Even after our father died, _I _hardly ever had dreams about him. There were only a few times when I did and when they came, he would be standing a far distance from me. I would try to run to him but each step I took towards him increased the distance between us, and then his from would slowly fade to black and then I would wake up.

Just like that, as if he was never there.

"Lucie-" I began, but she silently cut me off

"It's okay Luke, we can talk about it later. Alone." She made a quick glance at John, who was still fiddling with his phone.

"Alright. I'm going to go for a walk in the park, want to come with me?" I tried to change the subject.

"Oh, well, I'm still a little tired from last night," She said hesitantly, "so, I think I'll just lie down and take a nap." I didn't really notice the faint darkness under her eyes, so I complied at her answer.

"Okay, but _call_ or _text_ me if anything comes up." I spoke to her in more protective tone.

"Alright, alright, I will," she exaggerated. After one more quick hug and kiss on her forehead, she picked up the book on the couch and walked down the hall to her room and closed the door. Once I saw that she was safe and sound in her room, I drew my attention back to John who put his phone down and fixed his dark brown eyes on me.

"Heard ya going for a stroll in the park," His wide smirk returned and he leaned a flexed muscled arm over the island table while the other rested on his hip.

"Yeah, just want to clear some things out of my head. Want to come with?"

He sighed in what I could hear was disappointment. "Can't, mom needs some help down at the bakery."

I smiled at his mentioning of it. John and his mom lived a little farther ways down town in a residence that was just above the bakery where his mom worked full time, with him helping her out every now and then with running errands and fixing ingredients. All of the things there were entirely home made and tasted even better than they looked from the glass panels.

She once told me that baking helped take her mind off of things that she would rather forget, and it also helped bring her happiness and comfort because she loved making things that made other people happy when eating them.

"Oh, okay. Tell her I said hi, and to save me a cheesecake brownie and a slice of apple spice cake."

"Will do cutie," he gave me a thumbs up with a smile. "Shall I walk you out?" He got up from the stool and gestured toward the door.

I nodded in response and went back to my room to put on a thin sweat shirt to keep me warm in the still August weather. I locked the apartment door behind us with my key and walked down the hallway with him in the lead to the elevator. Before it began to descend the three floors I felt his large warm hand slowly slip in mine. I looked up at him to my right side and saw that he was still looking at the doors with a small smirk on his face. A warm smile crossed my own face and I returned his gesture, holding his hand back in my own.

When the doors opened to the lobby of the apartment he released my hand from his and walked out the elevator doors into the lounge area.

I would have thought it to be a bit strange seeing myself holding hands with someone who wasn't Jack, but the way John held it was different. He held my hand holding my fingers between his and his thumb, in a friendly matter. When Jack held mine he would interlock our fingers and my heart would begin to beat faster at his touch. Although, I couldn't help but wonder if John's gesture meant something else. _Maybe something that meant a little more._

No one was out in the lounge area of the building as we walked to the front sliding glass doors. It was still morning and most of the residence were probably asleep or out in town getting a late breakfast.

As we exited the building a cool rush of autumn air passed us by that caused me to clutch my shoulders to retain heat. It was slightly colder than it was yesterday and I began to regret not bringing something thicker to wear. The shivers rising up in my body slowly faded away at the warmth from John's large arm wrapping around my as we walked closer to the sidewalk from the parking lot of the apartment building.

"_Really_ wish I could stay with ya cutie, someone's gotta keep ya warm when Jack's not around," He urged me closer to his warm body and I gladly leaned more into him. It still astonished me at how he was so warm with wearing just a T-shirt and shorts.

I looked up at the side of his smirked face and saw that there was a fair amount of stubble on his cheek and chin. Both Jack and John pretty much had the capability of growing 'man beards', however my own face remained smooth and nearly flawless given that I was around the same age as them. "Thanks John, but, I think _this_ is good for now," I wrapped my free arm around his thick waist and relished in his warmth. Once we were just a street away from the park John released his warm hold and stood right in front of me.

"Well I'm afraid this is where we depart. I parked my car not too far from here cause the lot was full. Don't ya forget about our date later today cutie," John ended with a wink at me and wrapped both of his arms around me in another one of his tight warm bear hugs. It felt a little weird at John calling our hang out later today a date, but knowing him I knew it was probably just another of his usual jokes. "See ya later then." He ruffled my hair and began walking the other direction to his faded black Honda. As he began driving on the road he turned his car around so that he could wave back at me before he drove off into the distance.

After seeing that the dark vehicle was out of sight, I walked across the empty street walkway and into the downtown park of Savannah.

* * *

Forsyth Park itself today seem very ominous and quiet. Very few people were out in the streets of the town, and I was the only one walking on the path, much less the only one in the whole park. The sky wasn't very cloudy today. There were small grey clouds followed by larger ones that looked faded and misty in the distance but still allowed a good amount of morning light in that peeked through the large crevices.

I looked up at the Spanish Moss trees that formed that familiar grand hallway of branches above the wide path and saw that some of the mossy branches were moistened with droplets of water. The Weeping Willow trees farther out had their branches gently swaying in the light breeze that slithered through the park.

The faint lavender sent was more apparent and I inhaled deeply at its aroma, the cold air stinging my nostrils in the process.

My mind slowly began to clear of the worries I had about Lucie and her night terrors. She was safe and not seriously hurt from her minor injury. Hopefully talking to her about those things tonight could put me more at ease, that way I'll understand completely how she feels and maybe even help her release all the fears and worries she has as well.

Walking along the light concrete pathway I felt the light vibrations of my phone inside my pocket. I pulled it out and saw that jack was calling me revealing his photo ID with the two of us on the screen. It was one we took on the last day of school, his long light brown hair was slicked back and my black wavy hair was swept to the left side of my face. My heart skipped a beat at seeing his call and I held a quick nervous breath before answering.

"Hey."

_"Hey babe," _I could hear from his voice that he was probably smiling as wide as I was now, _"I uh, just left the gym a few minutes ago and wanted to tell you I'm having lunch with my mom and her new boyfriend Mike, so it'll be a little later until I see you again."_

"Oh, uh, okay," I said, trying to hide the disappointment behind my voice. I barely noticed how much I really liked being with him a lot more, now that we're together, " I'm just taking a short walk through the park now, and I kind of slept through breakfast so I'll just get something to eat a little bit later."

_"Okay Luke, don't get too cold," _he warned, making my laugh at his comment.

"_Oh_ and uh, later today I promised John that I'd hang out with him, so, _try_ to enjoy your time with me."

_"Oh, I intend to," _he teased.

"So I'll see you later then?"

_"Definitely."_

"Okay.

_"Love you."_

I bit my bottom lip trying to restrain my wide grin, "Love you too."

_"Bye,"_

"Bye."

I ended the call and place my phone back in my side pocket as I continued to walk down the path. Turning away from the main path I walked on to one that was cut from the dark green grass and littered with dirt. This smaller path was thinner and didn't have any benches on the edge of it, someone could easily walk to the end of it and sit on the cool grass, if they prefer the cold like I did.

I was just about to cross the next intersection on the smaller path when I heard a very lovely tune from a guitar. The notes themselves were mid-tone and began with three eighth notes followed by two more quarter notes and repeated. The plucking on the strings was gentle but could still be heard from where I was standing.

I examined my surroundings and tried to figure out where the music was coming from. My wandering eyes stopped at a figure sitting behind a tree on the far edge of the next path. I couldn't make out who the person was or what they looked like because the tree blocked my full view, but I saw black and white converse shoes attached to long thick legs wearing black jeans, indicating that the person was pretty tall. The neck of the guitar was held in their right hand that wore dark fingerless gloves and occasionally shifter lower on the neck playing higher chords in the same delicate pattern.

I didn't want to step on the grass which was covered with dried leaves to cause them to hear me and stop playing their very nice and soothing music, so I stayed on the far edge of the path to still enjoy the music they played.

There was a brief pause, and the hand moved much lower on the neck of the guitar and began playing higher notes that gave off a very saddened tune in the song. Just before the chord was going to repeat, the musician began to sing, with their soft but deep voice.

_And I've lost who I am, and I can't understand  
Why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love  
Without love gone wrong; lifeless words carry on  
But all I know, all I know, is that the end's beginning_

There was such longing and sadness in their calm and warm singing. I knew that I heard this soft and deep voice before. Once the next verse began their voice began to rise, singing the same chords louder but with different words.

_Who I am, from the start  
Take me home, to my heart  
Let me go and I will run  
I will not be silent  
All this time, spent in vain  
Wasted years, wasted gain  
All is lost, but hope remains  
And this war's not over_

They began bringing their voice down, singing the very last verse in a calmer but more sorrow tone.

_There's a light, there's a sun  
Taking all shattered ones  
To the place we belong  
And this love will conquer all_

They trembled the last note in the same deep tone that they sang in when they first began, showing that their sorrow was no different from where it began and where it ended.

The way that they had sang was a tone that I recognized. Singing about someone who was not physically with them, but presenting the song in their singing as if they were. It was exactly like the way he sang yesterday at the Juice Bar.

He must have known I was standing a distance behind him, because the ending of his song felt a little too sudden, as if there was more to be told. I stepped onto the grass and heard the faint crunched noises of the dried leaves. I walked to the side of the tree to see his full image. He wore a similarly dark leather vest as he did yesterday, along with a bright red scarf that looked a little out of place given his noticeable taste in clothing.

I knew at the sound and tone of his singing, and even before gazing at his bright golden wavy hair that fell in gentle waves just above his dark but clear violet eyes, that it was Daniel Grigori.

* * *

Song used: Shattered by Trading Yesterday.


	9. Chapter 9

It's been a while since I've updated but my summer reading was a lot longer than I had originally expected, SO SORRY! T^T. Highly recommend reading the Rot and Ruin series if you like zombies or the Tiger's Curse series if you want a really good paranormal romance.

I know that I've never really included Daniel in the story that much so far, sowwy .

But now I know it's the right time to dive more in to his character cause I only gave ya a small cameo before the previous chapter. It's been a couple years since I've read the books so I hope that my descriptions and interpretations of his character will satisfy some of you... hopefully :(

**ANYWAYS, I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

Enjoy!

* * *

Eight: Unbroken

"Daniel?" I said, shocked at me finding him here in Forsyth park of all places. When I had first met him he had given off more of an introverted aura and didn't seem to enjoy the company of others. But now I could see why. No one ever came here during this time of day, so it was perfect for him to be alone for a while until after noon.

Daniel's gaze had shifted from the vast distance of the Spanish moss and weeping willows right towards my own eyes.

The rays of sunlight piercing through the thick cotton white clouds added more tone to his tanned skin and brightened the violet color of his eyes. His face appeared clean shaved and there was not a blemish in sight. His jaw had a nice square set and was held high with thick muscles in his lower neck and chest.

When I looked back at him I saw a truth in his eyes that they desperately tried to hide, but couldn't keep caged. The beautiful but heartbreaking song he had sung so deeply described what I could see that those lonely violet eyes had held.

"You?" He responded back. His voice sounded so different when he spoke as opposed to how he sung. The tone in his voice was slightly monotone and calm, but the voice he sung with was richly filled with emotion and depth, and the slightest trace of sorrow. "You're that kid I met at the Juice Bar yesterday, Luke right?" He sounded a bit more casual now, not showing any signs of defense at the moment.

"Yeah, uh, I'm sorry I.. I didn't mean to interrupt you. I just really liked what you were playing, and, wanted to keep listening. You have a really nice voice." I gave him a small but shy smile.

"Oh uh, thanks," his eyes drifted down to the almost yellow green grass, the sadness slowly returning inside of them. Then I began to regret overhearing him, clearly he had been in a private moment and I had no place in intruding his own world.

"I'm really sorry Daniel, I could see that you-"

"No," his deep voice assured me, "don't worry about it. It's... nice to have someone listen, every now and then."

"Who were you, playing?" I asked hesitantly, still not trying to pry him of anything he didn't want to share.

"Well uh... it's mine." he said softly.

_Woah. _I thought. That was something that came from _him_, and no one else. They defined emotions that _he_ felt. It was about someone who broke _his_ heart. As all the more beautiful it made the song, it also made it more sad. What could have happened that made him feel emotions such as those? Did the person he love not love him back? Or was maybe their heart meant for someone else?

"Wow, that's.."

"Yeah," he grunted, "I know."

"Did, something happen?" I asked.

He paused for a moment, then his eyes looked back at mine, "I keep losing the person I love."

"What, do you mean 'keep losing'?"

"It's not easy to explain," he said looking off into the distance, I could sense the hurt within his hoarse voice, " I guess, maybe, _I'm_ just not worth loving."

His last words made my chest heave, and I felt that my heart had millions of micro-fractures in both it external and internal areas. I don't exactly know why, but I couldn't let Daniel think that way, "How could you say that?" The tone in my raised voice startling him as he looked back at me with a shocked look in his violet eyes, "Anyone would be so fortunate to be loved by someone like you." It felt somewhat ominous that I had to tell Daniel that. The beauty within his whole being was just so apparent not just within his voice or alluring good looks but with the softness of his strong deep voice and the way he seemed to look at the world.

"What makes you think I'm worth loving?" He asked.

"What makes _you _think you're not?"

"Because, every time I love them they end up getting hurt and there's nothing I can do to fix it." He looked back to me with unshielded eyes looking as if he were on the brink of tears, "Being alone is the only way I keep myself and _them_ from being hurt."

It was almost unreal at seeing Daniel like this. At the juice bar he had given off the impression that he could care less about anyone else and that he had no idea what 'emotions' were, but the hurt in his voice and sorrow in his eyes had given off a different aura to him.

Jack had always told me that I could see good things in people no matter how many terrible things they had done. When I was attacked in the ally I told Jack that those boys must have had something terrible done to them to cause them to do what they did to me.

I didn't want to think about the things that Daniel might have faced in the short span of his life to make him hurt so much. But one thing I couldn't understand is how his defenses came down when I was here talking to him. It was something that happened with a lot of people that crossed paths with me. They would start talking with me as if I were a friend or someone that they could go to for comfort.

"But why put yourself through all that pain and loneliness? Why isolate yourself from others?"

"No one really understands what it's like to have nothing. No one to love, hold, or even cherish."

The fractures in my heart became cracks at his words. I was completely surrounded by so many people that loved me, and Daniel was surrounded by an empty void of loss. What did I ever do to deserve what I have now, and what could Daniel have possibly done to be so alone?

"I don't know what it's like to be alone," I said to him, "but I know what it's like to lose someone you love and feel like you're alone. But if you look all around you and see people more clearly, you'll notice they might feel the same things that you do. All of my friends have dealt with their own experience of loss and pain, and they understand what I've been through. And seeing that helped me realize that I wasn't alone in anything. People suffer different pain, but we all know what pain feels like. So why can't we all hold onto each other until the storm ends?"

Just like that, the look in his eyes had changed. The emptiness in them looked more full of life and meaning. He looked down to his fingers just inches from the strings on his guitar and played three long chords. They sounded full of warmth and love, and had no trace of the sorrow the previous song held and for once, Daniel looked the slightest of bit happy.

I smiled back to him, glad that I could change just one moment in his life.

"Thank you, Luke." he said. "I never really gave any of that much thought before."

"You're welcome." I said back to him.

"No one ever really understood the things that have happened to me or the things that I've felt before, it is really comforting knowing that I'm not truly alone."

"Well, I'm glad that I've given you some ounce of comfort." I said back shyly, and he gave me the most warm and real smile I could have ever imagined being on his face.

A loud grumbling sound had broke the silence between us and I immediately covered my stomach with my hands. I could feel heat rising in my face as Daniel was holding back laughter. "Sounds like someone's hungry," he grunted.

"Yeah, kinda slept through breakfast and lunch," I said.

"There's a café just down the park, let me treat to lunch, it's the least I could do for someone who helped me feel happy once for a change. Sound good?" he asked, still smiling back at me.

"Yeah," I said, "I think that would be really nice."

* * *

Forsyth café didn't really have your five star quality meals or the same amount of varieties in food, but they sure baked a real good muffin sandwich with bacon and eggs. I ordered that while Daniel had sat with me at one of the small tables outside eating three large pancakes and a side of bacon on another plate with his guitar in it's case perched right beside him.

As the day grew older it began to warm up slightly with my shivering easing down as I ate.

It seemed a little awkward between the two of us at first but we made one glance at each other and began laughing at each other as if we were old friends. When were almost done with our brunch I decided now was a good time to try and get to know Daniel a little more.

"So, uh, what brings you here to a town like Savannah?"

"Oh, well, this was one of my favorite places to go to when I was, younger, there always seemed to be somewhat of an ominous aura here that I couldn't help but always return to."

"Huh, you feel that too?" I asked a bit shock. I thought only me and Lucie had felt that way about this place.

"Yeah, it felt more like this place was pulling me back instead of me just wanting to come here, almost like something's waiting for me here that I can't quite explain."

"Wow, that's seems a bit strange."

"What about you?" he asks. "Have you always lived here?"

"Yeah, me and my family used to live in a big house not too far from here, but we decided to move for a change of space after my dad passed away."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that." he said apologetically.

"Thank you."

We looked at each other for another moment before I decided to try and talk about something different.

"So are enrolled in school yet."

"Yeah," he said and pushed away his empty plate of pancakes and went straight for the bacon. "I'll be attending Sword and Cross on Monday."

"Hey! I go to that school, maybe we'll have a class together or two."

"Yeah, it'd be nice to see a familiar face every other day." He looked a lot more at ease as we began talking more. It still always amazed me how people just seemed so comfortable around me and not afraid to open up. But there was one thing about Daniel that I just needed to know.

"Hey, Daniel. Have we ever met before? Or well, uh, when was the last time you came here?"

"Oh um, it's been almost three years, why ask?" he sounded a bit concerned.

"It's just, you look so familiar and your named does too, I just thought maybe I saw you from somewhere or maybe we've met before in the past or something."

"I think I'd remember a face like yours," he said with a sly smirk. His comment let a slight blush cross over my face.

"So, where are you living at right now?"

He swallowed a whole strip of bacon before he spoke. "Well, I'm going to be here for a while so I'm currently living in an apartment complex just around the corner from here, it's actually a really nice place."

"Wait, the apartment complex just down the street by the Juice Bar?" I exclaimed a bit.

"Yeah, that place." Daniel said while chewing his last slice of bacon.

"I live there too! What floor are you on?"

"Floor three room eight."

"Your just three doors down from me!" I said. Something had shifted in his eyes, he looked almost scared at what I had just said to him. "Daniel, what's wrong?"

He looked down at his empty plates and spoke. "Did you hear that screaming last night?"

My heart skipped a beat at forgetting about Lucie. "Yeah um," my eyes followed his to the finished plates. "that was my sister."

I Looked back up to him and say those violet orbs fixed on me again. "What happened?" he murmured.

"She's been having really bad night terrors for the past couple of months, she usually just wakes up crying for me in her sleep but it never happened that bad. Last night she hit her head on the living room table because she must have sleep walked through the night terror she had."

"Is she alright?" he asked, sounding more concerned.

"Yeah, she's fine. A little shaken up but once she was with me everything got better." I assured him.

"Okay, I hope she feels better."

"Thank you. Well, I uh really should be getting back home now." I said looking at my phone, seeing it was already past noon.

"Yeah, I was just going to go back home too after this," Daniel said. "I'll walk you back."

"Okay."

Daniel reached into his wallet and left three five dollar bills on the table. We left the café out the glass paneled doors and walked back towards the park under the Spanish Moss trees over the main path, back to road that would take us both home.

* * *

I walked casually down the hall of the apartment with Daniel by my side. Although he hardly spoke within silence his presence was still one that seemed to bring peace to anyone. When I reached my door with the bronze rusted five on the door, Daniel paused next to me as I fiddle with my pocket for the key.

"Luke. Thanks again for what you said to me at the park." I looked back to him and saw a different light in his eyes. One that was not flickering with dimness, but one that burned with new life.

"I'm glad I could help." I said back to him.

"No Luke, I mean it. No one else's words have had as much of an impact on me as yours. You must be a very good friend."

"Well, now you know what it's like to have a good friend." I assured him.

With that he gave me one last smile. I don't know if I would ever get used to seeing him sad again, because when he did smile it looked real, as if it was never gone. "I hope to see you again Luke. Maybe we'll bump into each other at Sword and Cross on Monday." He turned away and began walking down to his door.

He set his guitar case down by the door as he reached for his key. I felt like I needed to comfort him more, to assure him that he was not alone and that he had a friend who would be there for him. I hesitated but spoke up before the key was placed into the lock. "Daniel." He looked back at me with a lost expression.

"What's wrong Luke?" he asked in a kind voice. I walked down the three doors between us and stood right in front of him, my eyes looking into his. I notice now how much taller he was than me at this distance and how broad his shoulders were, but I still wrapped my arms around his chest and felt the tenseness in his muscles and found that he was surprisingly warm in body heat.

He sucked in a breath and froze not knowing what to do but I still held on, tightening my hold. I knew how much he needed to be comforted with human contact. My mother always told me that a simple wave hello or a hug could save someone, because it might be the only comfort they've ever gotten and could mean the world to them. He let out his trembling breath and slowly wrapped his own arms around me. I was scared at first that he might push me away, but I thought this was something that he really needed and was glad to feel that I was right.

"Daniel, I just want you to know that you're never alone. Although I've never experience the things that you have I still understand your pain, and I'm here for you if you ever need me." He gripped my shirt in his fists and his hold on my became so tight I could barely breath. He buried his face in my neck, and I felt a warm and cooling dampness on my shoulder. When he spoke I was surprised at how calm and unbroken his voice was.

"Thank you Luke. Thank you, so much."

* * *

I gently closed the door behind me. I inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly to process just what happened in a short afternoon. I met Daniel at the town park and ended up forming a friendship with him. I found out that he lost someone very important to him and that's why he acts so distant and half alive, but underneath all of it is a really nice person who just needs a friend right now.

I could still feel the imprints of his warm tears on my shoulder. When he finally let go of me he had wiped the rest off with the back of his hand an apologized to me. I told him that it was alright, that it was okay for him to cry and feel the things that he suppressed. He gave me a simple nod and I went back over to my door and unlocked it. We both shared one more glance at each other and entered our own home.

The light from the curtained door of the balcony of the living room was a dull grey showing that it was more cloudy outside. I walked down the short hall and saw that Lucie's door was still closed. With a knock that was a little too soft I didn't hear a response so I turned the door knob and pushed it open slowly.

Lucie was tucked in her bed with the white comforter to her shoulders and her cape of black wavy hair spread out behind her. I walked over to the side of the bed behind her and quietly slipped in tucking her hair closer to her not wanting to lie on it. I scooted closer to her and wrapped my arm over her small form. She stirred slightly and turned over showing me that she was awake.

Her hazel eyes look more rested and the smile she had when seeing me with her made all the worries I had this morning vanish. I didn't even notice the bandage still covering the wound over her forehead.

"Hey Lucie, how was the nap?"

"Really nice." She said with a short yawn and stretched her arms outside the comforter. "I feel a lot more rested now. How long were you gone?"

"Just a little over an hour. I bumped into a kid me and Jack met at the juice bar and I kind of ended up having lunch with him."

"Really?" she said looking back at me. "Who is he?"

"Daniel." I said, feeling myself smile at his name. "Well to be honest, at first he gave off an impression that he wasn't really the friendly type but, we ended up striking a good conversation and I guess we became friends."

"Aw, that's nice." she said, the light in her eyes coming back. "It's that kindness that many people see in you that makes them feel comfortable to open up. Why do you think you have so many nice friends?"

"Thanks Lucie," I said in return and tucked small wisps of hair behind her ear. Then I remembered what we were going to talk about this morning. "Lucie? About what happened this morning, did you still want to talk about that?"

"Yeah," She hesitated. "It was a very pleasant dream. Do you remember that wooden swing that dad tied with rope to the tree in our front yard?"

"Yeah."

"Well, in my dream I was swinging on it and felt hands push on my back that helped me swing higher." She paused and took my free hand in hers. "When I looked over my shoulder, I saw that it was dad. He was smiling and laughing while pushing me." Her eyes became glassy. "But then I looked more closely and I noticed that it wasn't really him." She said.

"What do you mean?" I asked a bit shocked.

"It wasn't dad. It was _you._" She finally allowed herself to smile. "I'll be honest with you Luke, I still miss him so much, and sometimes I feel the longer he's gone the more of him I lose. But that dream I had helped me realize that not all of him is gone, because I still have you." My heart quivered at her words. She noticed my reaction and cuddled closer to my chest. "I'm just so glad that I still have you in my life."

"Me too Lucie. Thank you." I kissed her forehead gently and brought her closer towards me, too afraid of when in the far away future one of us would have to leave the other alone in this material world.

* * *

Lucie and I stayed together for a little while longer in her room, and then decided we should go to the living room and watch some TV until Jack got back from lunch with his mom and Mike.

We were on the lifetime channel because they usually showed a few Jodi Picoult adaptations every once and a while that we still enjoyed watching together.

"Me and Em are going to try and get Charlotte in a dress this year." Lucie said in between a commercial break.

"Good luck with that." I joked. "The only thing close to a dress that girl will wear is a mini skirt and anything that's black with lace."

"Well she always dresses up for the Halloween dance at Sword and Cross, and since she lost a bet with Em last year we get to choose her outfit. We were thinking of a gothic Cinderella sort of costume."

"Hmm, I'd like to see how that works out."

"She'll love it, trust me." She winked. "So... you and Jack have any plans today?" She teased.

"Not really, but I made plans with John later today. Going to head to his house once everything's good down at the bakery."

Lucie sighed and inhaled deeply. "It's been forever since we've been there. I've nearly forgotten what Sue's apple spice cake tastes like."

"Well I asked her to save me some, you could come with me and say hello."

"Aw, I wish I could but me and Em made planes to go to Borders and see if they had any new books yet, we also heard that Gayle Forman was signing books there later this afternoon and don't want to miss it."

"Okay." I said with a laugh.

"But please tell her I said hi and don't worry I'll get your copy of _If I stay _signed too."

"I will and thanks Lucie." Just then there was a knock at the door. I shot up from the couch almost involuntarily with my heart beat quickening at the thought of seeing Jack behind the door. Once I was at the door I stopped and took a deep breathe before opening it.

I was welcomed with warm body heat and that same pleasant scent of spice and light cologne. Jack stood tall and broad as ever with a small grin on his stubble face. He wore a plain black t-shirt under a thin denim Jacket and charcoal jeans.

"Hey." He said casually.

"Hey." I said back. Then he stepped inside and took me in his strong arms, engulfing me in his warmth and spicy aroma. He had to slouch slightly because how much taller he was than me so I stood on the tips of my toes to try and reach my chin to his shoulders.

Once we broke apart he brought his lips to mine in soft kiss. His lips were a bit more dry than usual and I could feel the stubble on his face as it scratch tickle my cheeks and bottom lip.

"Missed you." he looked at me with kind eyes when he pulled away.

"I missed you too. It feels like its been forever since I last saw you." I stood higher and kissed him again.

"What do you say we take this to another room... alone?" he gestured to my door down the hall with a nod.

"Yeah, why not."

"Hey Jack, _I_ missed you too." Lucie said casually but you could still hear the hurt in her voice.

Suddenly Jack was out of grasp and made his way over to the couch. I couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy at Jack giving other people love and affection, but I guess that's just a side affect of intimate relationships.

"Aw, I'm sorry little Snow White, you know I love you too." he said as she stood up to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her small form and picked her up several inches off the ground in doing so. The jealousy I felt seconds ago disappeared at the sight of him hugging my sister. I really loved how Jack loved cared about many other people other than me. It also began to make me wonder what I ever did to deserve someone like him in my life.

"How's the little booboo doing?" he said gently running his thumb over the bandage on her forehead and moving some lose black hair from the side of her temples.

"It doesn't hurt that much," she assured him bringing a small pale hand to the wound.

"Okay, that's good to hear. You scared me there for a moment little Snow White."

"I'm sorry," she said with sad eyes. "Next time I'll have Luke tape me to the bed." she joked.

"Seriously Lucie, please be more careful." Jack said sternly.

"I will." she responded, and he leaned down to kiss her forehead which brought a small smile to her face.

"Well, I guess I'll leave the two of you alone for now." she said with raised eyebrows.

"Okay Lucie," I said trying to ignore the look on her face and walked over to jack and reached for his hand and walked over to my door. Once I grasped it I felt that it wasn't his hand but something else. I stopped a couple steps from the living room and looked back down to see that I gripped the front part of Jack's pants.

He looked at me with astonished eyes but then slowly turned into a wide grin. "Geez Luke, I didn't know you missed me _that _much."

I felt heat flood into my cheeks from accidentally grabbing his pants instead of his hand. "I didn't mean to do that!" I exclaimed.

"I'll say," Jack said back, "day after first date and you're already trying to get in my pants." He gave me a quick wink. I looked behind him to see that Lucie was turned around with what I could see her hands covering her mouth preventing any laughter from escaping. I couldn't stand being here like this anymore and took hold of Jack's hand looking back at it to make sure and stormed into my room with his warm body by my side.

* * *

Jack was still laughing even after I closed my room door behind us. "I swear I didn't mean to do that." I pouted in front of him.

"Don't worry about it Luke," he said, "_Although,_ try something like that after our second date and you might get something back." His eyebrows bounced. My heart skipped quite a few beats at his remark. It felt like a snake had coiled through my ribcage and constricted its body around the entire organ.

He stepped closer to me and wrapped his arms dangerously around my lower back pressing me to him as he drew me into a deep kiss. The taste of his tongue and lips were still the same but had more fire in them than yesterday. He was more drawn into the kiss this time. He teased my bottom lip by biting it with his and the top row of his teeth. His hands slithered bellow back and slightly gripped me.

My arms were tightly bound to his shoulders and my hands woven in his hair. His sent was more potent and his taste more prominent. I felt the outlines of the hard and warm muscles in his back. The bulge of his biceps as they held me to his contracted pectoral muscles. More of his body heat radiated into me making me yearn for more of everything I could take from him; scent, taste, warmth, touch. _Jesus, when did Jack get so... hot?_

I'd seen Jack shirtless quite a few times and how often he worked out in a tightly compressed muscle shirt, but I never really thought to look again or stare at his working muscles a few minutes longer but now regretted that more than ever.

My breathing increased rapidly almost at a matched tempo with his. He broke away once to inhale a few deep breaths before diving right back in, grazing his teeth against mine as the crashing of our lips and tongues continued like the waves of the oceans against rock. Saliva coated our lips as our passionate rapture continued in a cosmic affair.

I was in desperate need for air and I forced my hands on Jack's chest to push myself free from his nearly erotic grasp. I devoured each breath of air my lungs ripped from the air that surrounded both of us. When both of our breaths matched in tempo I rested head against his chest with my arms loosely around his waist.

"Damn it Luke," he muttered as he held me close to his warm body, "I just can't get enough of you."

I nestled my head closer to his chest and could feel the beating of his heart as it thrashed against the inside of his ribcage. "Then maybe we shouldn't stop just yet." I whispered in his ear as I stood taller to kiss his stubble cheek.

He placed his hands over my shoulders and gripped them. "If we keep this up Luke you'll cause the same issue we had last night." He looked away from me trying to hide the redness in his face.

Tracing the outline of his fly I reached more farther than his cheek and kissed the lobe of his ear. "I wouldn't consider it an issue, If you truly enjoyed me causing it."

Jack made a low groan in his throat. "Luke I swear it's taking me all of my control not to throw you on the bed right now and rip these annoying clothes of the both of us. Damn it! I never thought I would be this attracted to you."

"Well what's stopping you?" I asked. He pulled me away from him more forcefully and looked at me with sad but honest eyes.

"Because Luke, all I want right now is to be with you." I immediately began to feel appalled with myself for the sensual mundane feelings I was fueled by. "Of course I really enjoy a make out session or three with you, I also want to be with you like how we were before this." He brought me into his arms again with not as much force as before, as if he were holding a long lost friend in which case he actually was. "I spent the entire summer sleeping alone at night with no one to keep warm from the cold, and they never contacted me to tell me if they felt the same." His words were like daggers in my chest.

"I'm really sorry Jack, I was just so scared if things wouldn't work out like this."

"I know Luke. Just please," he begged in pain. "don't ever do that to me again." He pulled away and brushed a few stray strands of black hair from the side of my face. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed me softly one last time and took my hand in his leading us both outside to my room balcony.

* * *

It was a few hours past noon and the skies were filled with a fractured grey. Light would peak through the incisions made between the dark clouds and the air had smelled of cool moisture.

Jack spent the last few hours with me alone and in peace, with only small kisses in between the minutes that flew by. Lucie ad already left with Emily to Borders and we were left alone. It was a very calm and peaceful time just being near him. I never knew how much I had actually missed him until I began spending more time with him now.

"Looks like it might rain soon," Jack said with his hands on the metal railing. "Any chance you can cancel your plans with John?" He asked with a smirk.

"You know Jack," I said back to him and leaned on his shoulder. "As much as I love you, you're not the only one who missed me over break. And I'm pretty sure when Matt gets back he'll want an afternoon with me too."

"Ugh," He groaned, "Why do you have to be such a magnet for love?" He rested his head against mine.

"You tell me." I remarked.

"I'm sure you already know that." He said turning to kiss my forehead. Although I wasn't really sure why people loved me. I just treated them the way any other human being would. Why would they show _me _the love that they did? What did I ever do to deserve them. _I wonder what Daniel would see in me..._

Just as that thought passed, I heard the text tone from my phone.

_John: Hey cutie bakery just closed now. We're all sold out but I managed to save the things you asked for. Hope you didn't forget our date, I'll be there in 10._

Jack stared down at the screen as I read. "What's he mean by 'our date'." His eyes bore into mine with jealousy.

"Its just a joke Jack, stop being so jealous, it looks too cute on you." I chuckled.

"Excuse me?" he groaned. "I think the word cute should only be applied to you." he said and attacked my side with his fingers as he began tickling me. My side contracted at his touch and I began laughing too hard to even breathe.

"Jack... Jack..." I moaned, and then he finally ceased his assault. He spun me around to lock our lips in one final kiss. I glided my tongue on his bottom lip to savor his taste before we would be parted once again. "I'll miss you." I said.

"I'll miss you too." He said back wiping my saliva off his lip with his own tongue. "Well I should get going now. My shift at the guitar store starts in half an hour." He fully embrace me, locking just enough of his warmth in me to last another day and walked out towards the front door. I stayed where I stood so that way I could see him walking off from the balcony outside.

Once he left the building from the front door I could still see him from where I stood. He waved his long hand at me and I waved back as he walked in the opposite direction of the park to the shops over down town.

As he turned a corner on a different street I lost sight of him and drew my attention back to the thick grey clouds above. Just as my gaze was fixed I felt a cold wet drop peck my cheek. I wiped it off with my index finger and then felt a few more hit the back of my hand. It was beginning to rain.

After long hot endless days of summer the rain had finally come back. I opened the large umbrella that stood supported in the middle of the small table with two chairs on the balcony and sat right underneath it to enjoy the full view of the rain. The pavement became darker from the rain drops and had given off a stronger scent of rock and concrete.

As I looked out into Forsyth park I saw a figure walking along the main pathway. At first I almost didn't recognize them but the bright red scarf and golden blond hair were dead giveaways. As I looked more closely at Daniel walking alone on the path of the still empty park I notice something odd that was right behind him.

There was a small faint cloud like form attached to his back. As I looked more closely I could see it was the rain bouncing off of something. Its form stretched a bit wider than his shoulders and stood just above his head and fell all the way to the floor.

_Are those... wings?_

* * *

I'd like to thank anyone out there who is still reading this story despite how long I have been away.

Things as of late have been very busy. My classes require a lot of attention now and I'm currently applying for college and all kinds of things school related as well as my reading.

I deeply apologize for being away for so long and appreciate anyone who is still reading THANK YOU! ^_^

It will be a while until I can write more in the meantime and get the next chapter up but please stayed tuned in case things happen to come up.


	10. Chapter 10

Here is Chapter 9! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in months. I've beenreading a lot more and outlining my original book that I haven't had time for Fanfic. I hope some of you are still reading on and are not too upset with the long delay. Hope you enjoy!

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

* * *

Nine: Unrequited

I grasp the sight of the clear water fall-like robe that drags behind Daniel's feet leaving a damp trail in its passing for a few mere seconds, and then my sight is gone. The grey light from the rain clouds barely pierces through the spaces between the fingers of the warm hands that cover my face. The rain still falls in its downpour as I stumble backwards in shock and feel my back rests on a broad chest flourishing with body heat.

"Guess _who_?" he says in the husky like voice.

"Jesus John, you scared me!" I exclaimed turning around to face him. He's still wearing the same shirt from this morning that has small blotches of white powder that I assumed was flour from working in his mother's bakery and his thin black shorts have been replaced with charcoal denim jeans.

"Aw sorry bout that cutie, your reaction to being scared is just too much for me to handle," he ruffles the top of my head in an older sibling manner while giving me one of his bright smiles that lit up almost any rainy day.

"Ha ha ha you're hilarious," I pout at him.

"You were practically hanging from the railing, ya see Jack jogging in the rain without a shirt on," he joke while sticking his tongue out at me. I couldn't help but blush as heat flared up in my cheeks. "Aw, there's that cute little blush I missed so much."

"Shut up," I muttered as I looked away from him back towards the Forsyth park where I had seen Daniel a minute ago, but he was already gone from sight. "I just thought I saw something weird."

"Oooh," inquired John, "So Jack jogging in the rain naked?" That did it. I could feel my face was almost entirely red as I turned and punched John in the chest. Since he had a slight muscular build it was probably no more than a swat to him.

John turned away and started laughing like an idiot while holding his stomach. "Common cutie you know I was just messin with ya," he assured while pretending to wipe away a tear.

"Maybe I should call off our little_ date_ and leave you home sulking for being such a big bully," I said to him with smirk.

He looked back at me a hurt expression and gave me his most sad puppy face. "You wouldn't do that to me would you? Even though I told you how much I missed you while on the road?"

I couldn't resist the pull of sympathy his puppy face always had on me, even if it were ridiculous things like asking me for potato chip that was only inches from my mouth. "You know I can't say no to that face," I said as I walked into his outstretched arms and buried myself in his warmth. Even though he wasn't as towering as Jack was my forehead barely reached over his shoulder and he could easily rest his on my own. With John being booked for so many shows while he was on tour with the band he hardly ever had time to call and keep in touch because he once told me that during most of their free time they would sleep up and rest for the next show.

He made a purring sound as he held me more closely to him and gently rubbed his head against mine. "Finally, I can have you all to myself for today."

"When did you get here?" I asked after a brief laugh.

"Just right now and I bumped into Jack in the hall when he was leaving," he said pulling away slightly, "Gave him a quick hug hello and goodbye, and of course he told me to keep my hands off of you or he'd have my balls." he said winking at me.

Another laugh escapes my lips at his comment. "So what did you want to do today? Go see a movie? Stop at your place and hang out? Go for a drive by the beach?"

"Hmm... Well I guess we could go to the movies, have you seen the Half Blood Prince yet?"

"Nope, haven't really had the chance to. Want to see that?"

"Yeah!" he cheered. "Well the next one starts in half an hour and the weather said it'll be raining again by the time the movie's over, so I figured we could stop by at my place after that and just hang there for the rest of the day. How's that sound?"

I offer him back a smile. I never knew how much I missed having his cheerful and positive presence around me, and of course the humorous jokes he would make and how he would always tease and bully me that still to this day would made my face bright and red with embarrassment. "Sounds good to me," I answered back to him.

* * *

While in the large theater that was surprisingly clustered with people in cosplay and wearing Harry Potter merchandise I remember a couple years back when I tried to convince John to actually read the books before the movies would come out.

He would keep passing it off saying hat it would take up too much time. Then I had asked him what he would do in the year that he would wait for the next one to come out. With many more attempts later I had lent him my own copy and was shocked to get it back two days later and him desperately asking for the next one. Within the next two weeks he had read all seven of them and had his very first 'book hangover'.

He said that he couldn't take his mind off of the books so I had given him more books to read and within the next few months had made quite the book worm out of him. Now he's read a handful more of books and since then have been really happy for him because of the entirely new world I had shown him that lied within books.

About halfway through the movie John had slowly placed his large warm hand over mine that was on the armrest of the seat. I was a little spooked at the action and looked up towards him and saw that his attention was still fully focused on the movie. John would never really do things this intimate with me and I still really didn't know what to think about this.

As the movie started to become more emotionally in depth, he shifted his hand underneath mine and interlocked our fingers. It was still unusual to me that John would do this with me but I didn't know how I should respond to it so I gripped his hand and placed my fingers between the spaces of his knuckles and held on for the rest of the movie.

Once the ending credits had began to roll on screen he gently released my hand that was now warm from his touch and beckoned me to follow him down the steps of the seat. Exiting the theater he kept a close distance between us as we exited the building that was still fresh with the smell of butter, salt and popcorn and headed towards the parking lot. The rain still has not ended and continues to patter against the pavement as we rush to John's car to avoid the cold drops.

"So uh, what'd you think of it?" I asked trying to break the oncoming awkward silence.

We entered his car and he closed his door behind as I was fully fasten and ready for the drive. "I think I'm starting to understand when you say it's never as good as the books," he replied.

"Glad we're finally on the same page, literally," we both start cracking up at my joke as he turns the ignition on and starts down the driveway.

His house is only a few minutes away from the theater and I couldn't remember the last time I had ever been driven in the rain. The lost rain drops blown against the window and trickling away like clear shooting stars were a sight I always thought I would never see again as the seasons had changed year round.

I turned to look back at John and saw the lights from the passing lampposts making his face more visual in the dimness of the night. He still seemed to have that casual grin on his face and took his eyes off the road for a second to look and wink back at me. I returned his smile and reached to place my hand over his where he rested it by the seat.

We entered the farther downtown area of Savannah and pulled up to the parking lot that housed the large single building. It held the bakery and his complex the next story up which you could see the small railing of his room out a window and above the sign that said 'Susan's bakery'.

We left his car and stepped around the corner to enter through the front door where there was still light within the large front window. I was immediately welcomed by the sweet aromas of apple, cinnamon and chocolate. I could see in the clear glass cases that housed the delicious and luxurious works of art that only John' mom could bake were all empty. Everyday she would make a fair amount of each bread, cake and desert that by closing time everyone in town had nearly robbed the place of every crumb.

Sue was behind the counter putting away the last bit of stock they had left into plastic covered dishes. She wore a red tinted dress printed with yellow flowers with small white smudges on the shoulder sleeves and her thick dark silky hair was taken out of its usual bun and fell down her back in long thick wisps.

"Oh, hello Luke," she chimed looking up from over the counter, "I haven't seen you in so long." She step through space between the glass and gave me a warm welcoming embrace. The sweet smells of the ingredients in the breads and cakes became her own personal fragrance that I always thought of whenever I came by here with John

"Yeah, I've really missed this place. And you of course."

"Oh," she groaned gently hitting me with the apron in her hands sending a small cloud of flour in the air, "you men are all the same. Only care about the pastries and food I make for you and your lazy couch potato bums." Her eyes lit up as she smiled to her sarcasm. "So what brings you here? Other than the fact to chow on the small rations of stock I saved for you," she asked softly.

"Well John and I wanted to hang out today but since it wont stop raining anytime soon he thought we should just stay here for the rest of the night."

"Aw, well that's nice. John's been a little anti-social since he got back from tour so it's good to see him with someone now."

"What do you mean?" I asked turning to John with a worried look," I thought you were always with the band, especially now with getting ready for your next album."

John looked at his mother a bit more serious, revealing that she said more than she should have. "Not so much really," he sounded taken aback, " just had a lot of things on my mind lately." There was a bit of an awkward silence between the three of us and then John quickly took my hand in his and we began to the back of the bakery past the kitchen to the stairway that led up to the house on the next story. "We'll be in my room if you need anything mom," he shouted down as we made our way up.

* * *

John lay sprawled on the right side of the bed with an arm supporting his head on the pillow. I was sitting right beside him eating the slice of apple spice cake Mary saved me while we both watched Lord of the Rings on Scifi. His room was surprisingly roomy for how small the living quarters of the building was. Right in front of us was the medium sized cube television and to the far right of his bed was the small railing the stood above the bakery sign.

I stole a quick glance at him and saw that his expression was very blank but keenly focused on Arwen and Aragon being reunited again and embracing each other's love. Looking more at him now he did seem a bit more distant as Mary said before. I noticed that most of the band posters he had hung up on his walls were all gone and left light imprints of where they once were.

Once I finished the last bit of crumbs of the cake I set the plate on the bookshelf he used as a nightstand and scooted closer to him resting my head on his chest. He warmly accepted my gesture and tucked his free arm underneath me and pulled me closer to him. He smelled of sweat, deodorant and cinnamon which you would expect to make someone cringe at the strange smell, but being used to it for two years now it came as a memento of an old friend.

"Hey John?" I asked when the next few scenes of the movie went on.

"Yeah?"

"What was your mom talking about earlier, about you being 'distant'?"

"Well," he began, "I kind of quit the band."

"What! I thought that things were going good especially with the tour and all the good sales you had."

"Well yeah, but, the music right now isn't really what if feel like playing," he said shifting his eyes away from the TV screen, "I just signed on to do a solo album and I have plenty of songs already written to start recording now if I wanted."

_Wow. _I thought. John quitting the band was the last thing I'd ever expect him to do. But what would drive him into wanting to be solo and not with Charlotte and the others?

"Well, that's really amazing but, why the sudden change of heart?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it cutie, it's not that big a deal."

"If it's making you quit the band and not really talking to any of the others then I'm sure it is. You can talk to me about it if you need to John, I'm here for you."

His eyes had finally met mine with a small grin that seemed forced on his face. "Thanks Luke, you're a really good friend," he said and ruffled my hair with his free hand. He leaned his head closer to mine and forcing in a long breath. "Well, to tell you the truth," he began, "I kind of, fell for someone while on tour."

_What? John actually falling for someone? _Not to put it bluntly but John honestly seemed more like a tease to girls than an actual romantic person. "Huh, one of your crazy fans actually get to you this time?" I asked.

"No its, it wasn't a fan."

"Oh, well, is it someone we know?"

His eyes shifted back to the TV. "Kind of." he said hoarsely.

I still couldn't quite get over the though of John being in love. He always seemed to have his cool despite however he would be feeling, but now he was clearly lost in thought proving that this was real. But I began wondering more who it could possibly be. It couldn't be Em or Lucie, he was far too casual and brotherly with them. However, he hardly ever looked at Charlotte when we were at our usual spot in the courtyard at Sword &amp; Cross. "What's she like then?" I asked not wanting to be too persistent.

He grunted at my question almost in anger, but still answered in a kind and honest tone. "Kind. Loving. Selfless. Always willing to help someone need. Not really realizing how good and beautiful of a person they are."

I rested my head back on his chest falling silent after his response. Those words he had spoken could only be described as real and unconditional love. I was beginning to feel guilty about intruding on such strong and personal feelings.

"You must... really lover her."

"Yeah," he whispered softly, "I do."

The only sound in the room came from the vibrating speakers in the old TV. I spoke up not wanting the silence between us to continue. "John I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, don't Luke," he reassured, "I really needed to get that off my chest."

"Oh, okay." I said. As hard as I tried before the silence had come back. I stayed close to John's warm chest and still desperately wanted to change the subject while I still could. "Hey," I suggested while looking up to him,"why don't you show me some of the new songs you wrote on tour."

He looked back at me with a more positive look in his eye that brought relief to me. "Yeah, been meaning to actually play something new since I got back." He rose from the bed turning off the TV with the remote and went for his black acoustic guitar that rested on its stand by the door. He sat on the bed across from me with the guitar propped on his knee while plucking the strings creating simple notes to ensure they were tuned. The warmth from him was already leaving me to the cold so I shifted over to the side of the bed he lied on where it was warmer.

Once he found the proper tune of the last string he slid his finger over the frets to play the first chord.

At first it was only two notes on the higher string that were played repeatedly, then more strings were plucked creating a sweet euphoric lullaby.

_The buttons on my phone are worn thin_  
_ I don't think that I knew the chaos I was getting in._  
_ But I've broken all my promises to you_  
_ I've broken all my promises to you._

His voice was high and treble apart from how deep it was when he would speak. The lyrics in the beginning spoke of hurting someone important, someone loved. As John's song continued I was immersed into a story deep within the lyrics.

_ Why do you do this to me?_  
_ Why do you do this so easily?_  
_ You make it hard to smile because_  
_ You make it hard to breathe_  
_ Why do you do this to me?_

Now they spoke of not being in control of hurting that person's pain. It was because of that person that they were the reason for hurting them.

_ A phrasing that's a single tear,_  
_ Is harder than I ever feared_  
_ And you were left feeling so alone._  
_ Because these days aren't easy_  
_ Like they have been once before_  
_ These days aren't easy anymore._

_ Why do you do this to me?_  
_ Why do you do this so easily?_  
_ You make it hard to smile because_  
_ You make it hard to breathe_  
_ Why do you do this to me?_  
_ To me, to me, to me._

It seems that they had to go away from that person and they felt guilty for leaving them alone.

_ I should have known this wasn't real_  
_ And fought it off and fought to feel_  
_ What matters most? Everything_  
_ That you feel while listening to every word that I sing._  
_ I promise you I will bring you home_  
_ I will bring you home._

Now they realized it was a mistake leaving them behind and they wanted to come back to them because they were so important to that person.

_ Why do you do this to me?_  
_ Why do you do this so easily?_  
_ You make it hard to smile because_  
_ You make it hard to breathe_  
_ Why do you do this to me?_

His clear dark eyes had met mine for a brief moment as he was nearing the end of his story that was so beautifully constructed.

_ Why do you do this to me?_  
_ Why do you do this so easily?_  
_ You make it hard to smile because_  
_ You make it hard to breathe_  
_ Why do you do this to me?_  
_ To me, to me, to me._

He strummed the last chord in a satisfying closure but the saddened look on his face showed there was more to be said.

"John..."

"I know. I'm really screwed up about this." he said setting the guitar against the bed.

"Have you at east tried talking to them?" I asked.

"Yeah, I have actually." he hesitated.

"Would it be too much to ask who it is?" I really didn't want to be so invasive.

"I just. I really don't want to mess up what we already have." his hand clenched the navy comforter.

"John, if they're as good of a person as you say they are then it won't ruin anything. If anything they'll respect you if they don't feel the same way because you're being honest with them." his grip on the sheets tighten to the point where his knuckles were as white as bone.

"You don't understand Luke!" I staggered back with my heart skipping a beat at his aggressive tone.

"W-What do you mean, John?" I attempted to say but worried he would yell again.

"Oh god. Luke I'm so sorry I-, could we just drop it for now?" he said more softly.

"Uh, yeah." He turned away and starred down at the plain faded carpet. John was so perplexed with his feelings that maybe it was best to leave him be for a while. I grabbed my phone from the bookshelf and looked at the time. "Uh, it's almost eleven. I should be getting home."

"No," John quickly objected, "I mean, why don't you stay the night?" He suggested with a warm smile.

"Are you sure? It's just I thought you wanted to be alone and-"

"No Luke, I really just want to be with you now." The look in his eyes had changed from distant to the familiar light they always carried.

"Okay," I said, "but will your mom be okay with it?"

"Are you kidding?" he laughed, "she'll be grateful for me having someone here who can tolerate me."

"Hey," I said, "you're not that bad. Well when you're not being such a big bully." I joked.

"Oh really," he pouted. And then without warning he pounced on top of me and began poking and grabbing my sides.

"John, Joh- J-," I couldn't breath with all the air being forced out from laughing so hard.

"What?" he said as he continued with his assault, "I can't hear you."

"PLEASE... STOP... CAN'T... BREATHE."

"Ooh, okay." and with that I was finally able to regain my breath as he rested right next to me.

"You're so mean." I said with a small pout.

"But you still love me right?" He said shifting closer to me on the bed.

I wrapped my arm over his broad chest and placed my head right where I could hear the steady beat of his heart. "Don't really think I have a choice."

"_Hey_." He whined.

"Just _kidding_." I said to him as I leaned in more towards his warmth.

* * *

"Why don't you have any sweats?" I asked while curling under the comforter of his bed, preserving what little body heat I had left. Even in doors the cold Georgia autumn still found its way in with the heater on. I was in an old T-shirt and shorts both a size too big for me that belonged to John, which proved vey little of keeping me warm at all.

"I get too hot at night and start sweating and then I smell really bad when I get out of bed in the morning."

"Jeez, well could you spare another blanket or three or four?" I asked through chattering teeth.

"Well," he said, "I could spare some body heat if you scoot closer." I turned around facing him and saw that he had his arm raised over an empty space in between us. Without hesitation I filled it completely with John wrapping a large warm arm over my body. He was in a pair of shorts like mine and a muscle shirt that I still couldn't believe he was comfortable in, but the warmth of his bare arm against mine informed me he was. "God Luke," he said in shock, "you're like ice."

"And you're like fire," I said, soothing myself in the flame of his body heat.

"Hmm," he murmured pulling me closer, "this is nice."

"Yeah," I said, "that you put on more deodorant at least," I laughed.

"Well hey, either that or you'd be sleeping on the couch."

"Yup, I'd rather freeze to death than cuddle with a guy smelling like a zombie."

"Well in that case, the next time you spend the night here I'll make sure to have a heavy work out with no shower. So that way you'll have no choice."

"Ew, you wouldn't," I cringed at the thought.

"Nah," he said, "I'd give anything to get you in bed with me," he said furrowing his eyebrows.

"Shut up." I said but the effects of sleep were already falling upon my eyes.

"Goodnight cutie," John said kissing my forehead with the slight tickle of his stubble.

"Night John," I grunted only really hearing the steady beat of his heart against his chest.

"I love you," he said. I was just about to respond, but his warmth had already taken me in.

* * *

The cold had crept further under the covers as I slowly awoke, extending my limbs to seek out John's warmth only feeling barren sheets in his place. My weary eyes had seen the alarm clock on his night stand that it was two in the morning. Groaning from my abrupt sleep I rose from the bed and saw the curtains over the large glass doors to the railing swaying in the cold invading breeze.

A shadow that was cast outside from the moonlight on the carpet had shown me where my missing source of heat had gone. Clutching my arms closer to my body to conserve warmth I abandoned the bed sheets and stepped closer to the open sliding door and saw John slightly slouched over the railing, with small vapors escaping each of his slow breaths.

"John? What are you doing out here, it's so cold," I had already began to shiver.

"I couldn't sleep," he murmured, his voice sounding more tiresome that he revealed. I could see his hands tightly gripped on the metal railing, his knuckles as wan as the cold itself.

"John... is there something wrong?" He was beginning to scare at the way he was isolating himself. Going out into the cold just to touch him seemed too much of a danger.

"Damn it Luke!" His hand collided with the metal in a bone chattering _bang _that made me flinch back. "You just don't understand do you!"

"John..." I was surprised at taking a few steps closer right onto the ice cold platform just feet away from him. "I can't understand if you don't tell me what's wrong." My voice shaking more at his harsh tone than the cold.

He released the railing and turned to face me, looking more taller and broad up close now than he ever did before. His hands shifted slowly to tightly clenched fists with his eyes fixed away from mine. I wanted to say something to break the dead silence between us but looked down to his white knuckled fists. Instantly they were released. I looked up towards him only to be met with the outline of his chest inches from me. He placed his warm hands on my face with the most gently touch as I looked up to meet his dark onyx eyes and compressed his warm lips against mine.

Surely this must be a dream. The gentle movement of his lips can't quite possibly be real. I can see that his eyes are closed and then feel him enfold me with his arms holding me close towards him. His hand reaches up to gently run through my hair and all of my conscious senses return to me instantly knowing this is no dream at all. I raise my arms between us and press my hands firmly against his chest.

"John!" He looks back at me with wide and alert eyes filled with egret at what he had just done.

"Oh god Luke," he gasps running a hand roughly through his hair, "I didn't- I just, ugh, damn it!"

"John... why did you..."

A long silence had broken through between us before he spoke again, "It's you Luke," he muttered.

"Me?"

"You're the one that I love," he said softly his words like a blade to my heart.

"John I," I stepped closer to him but he shifted and turned back to the riling.

"Now you understand Luke. Why it's hard to feel the way I do about you."

"How long have you..." I couldn't make myself speak further.

"I'd be lying to you and myself if I said it wasn't the year I first met you." He looked up towards the infinite sea of stars above, almost looking as distant as they were.

"But I thought you liked, girls," I said hesitantly.

"Well yeah, of course I do," he said, his familiar warm voice coming to, but then he turned back around his eyes finding me again, "but you're the one I'm in love with." He stepped forward and gently took my hand in his warm one, "So much about me changed when we first became friends. I felt things about you that I've never really felt about anyone else before. I tried denying what I thought I felt about you because you were a guy, but in the end it still didn't change. No matter what you are I'll still feel about you the way I do now." His grip on my hand tightened a bit.

"Why didn't you ever say anything to me about it, I mean-"

"Because, before I could even think about it, Jack had told me how he felt about you." He slowly let my hand slip from his and put more distance between us.

"Wait. You knew?"

He laughed at my astonishment, "Honestly cutie, you two were practically conjoined at the hip. It'd be dumb of me not to expect you guys to be where you are now. Though I'd hate to admit it I'd been jealous of him at many times, but I couldn't hate the fact that two of my best friends were happy with each other. Besides, Jack had two years on me when you and I met Freshman year. Of course you'd be more closer to him."

I looked at him more sternly, "No John. Just because I've known Jack longer doesn't mean I love you any less than him."

He smiled sadly at me, "But you're _in_ love with him."

I looked away from him and gazed at the top part of the unlit sign above the bakery, "I'm sorry John," I said nearly close to tears.

"No, don't Luke," he said raising my face to his with the edge of his index finger, "don't be sorry for not feeling something back. I just really needed to tell you, and I know that it won't change the fact that you're with Jack, and... I hope it doesn't change how you feel about me now."

There was a deep sorrow in his eyes as he held my gaze for a short time before looking away. But without a thought I rushed out in the cold night to him and tightly secured my arms around his warm body. "No John, never. I still love you the same as I did yesterday and I'll still love you the same forever. You could be an axe murderer and I wouldn't not love you at all."

A long breath left his body before he wrapped his own large arms around me, "Thank you Luke," he said nearly in a sob, "thank you."

We stayed embracing one another for a long while before breaking apart, "Common," he whispered, "we should get back to bed." He closed the sliding glass door behind us drawing the curtains to block out most of the moonlight from his room. He climbed into bed and moved to the other side lifting the covers with his arm leaving just enough space for me right next to him. I followed in suit and lay against his chest with my arm slung over his abdomen as he settled the thick comforter over the both of us. "Goodnight Luke," he said within the dark silence.

"Goodnight John," I said back to him, the effects of sleep already once again falling upon my eye lids.

"I love you," he whispered softly.

I held him more closer to me completely engulfed in his warmth and breathing him in not wanting to think what morning would bring, "I love you too John."

* * *

Oh my god I'm so sorry for the long delay again, things have just been piling up none stop. It's going to be a while before I can update this story again until I can clear things up in my boring life -.-

**Song used: Why by Secondhand Serenade**

Until then! :D


	11. Chapter 11

Here is chapter 10!

Sorry for the long wait. I've been really busy with the last few weeks of school, reading new books and outlining my original novel! I've also posted the next chapter in my _**Hunger Games** _fanfic and I've written a new one on a book series called **_The Wolves of Mercy Falls_** so be sure to check those two out!

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN.**

Enjoy!

* * *

Ten: Revealed

A silent but calm morning welcomed me when I awoke in John's warmth. I was still curled up to his chest with both of his arms wrapped around me. The brightness of the morning light revealed that the skies were cloudless, usually the sign of a good day, but I had the strangest feeling that it was far from it.

How would John explain to me what happened last night, and would we still be okay? I loved John, but not the way that he had wanted me to and I didn't want what we have now to change or prevent us from being together as friends. I gripped the back of his muscle shirt and buried my face in his chest, the smell of his deodorant was fading away but still wasn't a bother towards me.

The action made him stir and he released me shortly to stretch his arms and give a long yawn, assaulting me with his morning breath. His dark slanted eyes had met mine and was happy to see the light still within them.

"Morning cutie," he said ruffling my hair with a short smile. "Ya sleep good?"

"Yeah," I said returning his smile.

He placed one stretched arm back over my shoulder pulling me back into his warm chest. He inhaled a long breath before speaking again. "Look cutie, I know what I did last night was wrong. I just really needed you to know how I feel, and I didn't want to keep it to myself forever. Please, please don't be angry with me." he begged. "I don't want to lose you."

I pulled back and looked at him straight in the eye. "Never," I said to him.

"You're not mad about what I did last night. Are you?" he asked.

"No, just, still a little confused. I'm not too sure how to take it all in still."

"I know cutie. It'll take some time for me too, but, this won't change anything about us will it? I mean, I know that you don't feel the same way about me but I just..."

"No John," I said firmly. "It changes nothing about how I feel about you now. You're still my best friend, and the mean big brother I never had."

He looked back at me with more comfort and reassurance in his eyes but then began to form a pout. "Well in that case of being a mean big brother," he said and then began to assault me in a tickle frenzy.

"NO... JOHN...STOP..."

"Oh okay," he said and then stuck his armpit in my face. "Then have a nice whiff of some good morning B.O."

I just had enough time to hold my breath as his armpit hair brushed against my face but quickly pushed him back and saw him nearly fall off the bed clutching his stomach in a state of hysteria.

"You're so mean," I exclaimed while still holding back a laugh.

Once his laughter died down he gazed back at me with his lustrous onyx eyes. "But you can't help but love me right?"

"Yeah. You're just a mean and smelly big brother." I said letting my face lift into a smile.

With that he moved closer to me on the bed and ran his hand through my hair while drawing me closer to him. He remained silent for a moment before speaking again.

"I don't want this to change Luke. I still wish I could be more than just your friend, but, I love what I have with you now and I don't ever want to lose this."

The guilt began to return to me in an instant. That I couldn't give John what he wanted. That someone so kind, loving and caring as him deserved to have.

"I'm sorry John," I said to him as my own arms wrapped around his frame.

"I told you cutie," he said massaging the back of head with his warm hand. "Don't feel sorry for something that you don't feel back. I know you love me, and that it's not as much as I would want it to be, but it's enough, it's more than enough right now." He gently placed a kiss on my forehead. "I know you might not like it but could you promise me something?" he asked.

"What is it?"

"Don't tell Jack about... what happened last night."

"John, you know I'm not going to keep something like this from him. He's my boyfriend."

His expression had waned at me saying that. "I know cutie," he said. "But if Jack finds out about me kissing you from you, he'll make a necklace out of my testicles."

A laugh involuntarily escaped from me. "Oh, god John don't worry about it. I'll explain everything. You of anyone should know the kind of person he is, I know he'll understand."

"I hope," he said looking a bit distant.

There was a soft knock on the door before Susan opened it, her sweet smile bringing more light into the room. "Rise and shine boys, breakfast is almost ready."

"Aw c'mon mom, just a few more minutes," he said looking at her while cuddling closer to me.

"Johnathan Alaric Choe it is nearly a quarter till ten. I can't help but fear that Luke has been starving for how long you've kept him locked in those grizzly bear arms of yours." she said firmly.

"Ugh, mom, I hate it when you use my full name," he said scratching the back of his head. He told me shortly after we met that he was half of British and half of Korean decent, and when he and Susan cut ties with his father that he took her maiden name but kept his middle name for it being his grandfathers that he still has a close bond with. "And for the record," he said back to her, "Luke here has been peacefully sleeping in these "grizzly bear" arms of mine."

"Now don't you use that tone with me young man. Or I might just give all of the bacon on your plate to Luke." With that, she ducked back out the room with the door still a jar open.

"You would give it back to me though would you?" he asked with bright puppy eyes.

"Maybe a strip or two."

A big smile broke onto his face. "And that's why I love you," he said, fully embracing me again.

* * *

Susan had made a fresh batch of pancakes with cinnamon added to the mix and was still pouring more on a pan as we came down stairs.

John had nearly begun devouring the three already on his plate as we sat down at the dining table. Susan gently placed a plate with two large faintly steaming pancakes on them with a small dab of butter on top. The sweet aroma stimulated my salivary glands and I eagerly began spreading the butter and cutting the cakes in pieces with a small puddle of maple syrup added lastly.

Once I was finished with the two she placed another plat beside the empty one that was topped with scrambled eggs and four strips of crispy bacon.

Susan sat at the other end of the table with a small mug of coffee watching the both us eat lively. "So Luke," she said, "I heard that you and Jack are going steady now."

"Yeah, we made it kind of official a few days ago."

"Aw, well that's just too sweet. You two were always such close friends, I know you'll be very happy together." I was beginning to see where exactly John got his smile from. It was almost difficult to believe that despite what the both of them have gone through that they still found something good.

"Thank you Susie," I said smiling back at her.

"Well, I'm really grateful that you've been able to be some company for John here. He hardly answered any of my calls when he was on tour."

"I told you mom," he said. "We were busy non stop."

"Oh, I know I know, band stuff and all. Just be sure next time to send me a text to let me know you're doing alright."

"Okay, I'll try to remember."

Susan let out a short sigh and drank the last bit of her coffee before rising and taking the empty plates to the sink. I gathered my own and offered to help her. "Oh no sweetheart, you're our guest. _You_ on the other hand," she looked over to John. "I could use some help from."

John reluctantly stood and went to help Susan with the dishes, stopping in front of me to kiss my forehead and ruffle my hair. "Wait for me upstairs," he said. "There's something I want to give you."

I walked quietly back up the stairs to his room. Once there I browsed about looking at some of the new posters of his favorite bands like Hoobastank and Lifehouse that he had on his wall, and I could see that some of them had signatures on them. It never really crossed my mind that he could have met them when they were on tour.

I also saw the hardcover box set of the Harry Potter series I got him for his eighteenth birthday during spring break. A smile caught my face as it looked like he had not even taken them out of the box to read.

I sat on the edge of the bed and it was only a few short minutes before I heard rushed foot steps up the stairs and then saw John slightly panting in the door way.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," he said showing all white teeth. "I, I never called and wished you a happy birthday." he looked down towards the floor.

"I got you're text though," I said, trying to be understanding.

"Yeah, but that was nothing special."

"Aw c'mon John. Just telling me that alone was enough to make me feel special. You were really busy this year, I understand."

"Thanks cutie, but I really wanted to make you something for this year," he said almost holding back a nervous look.

"Make me something?" I asked.

"Yeah. I told you before that my grandfather's a jeweler and that I've been learning things from him for a while now."

"Yeah," I said, remembering back when he showed me all the amazing rings he wore that he had made by hand.

"So, I made you a ring. I made one for Lucie too." He walked over to his dresser and pulled out two small boxes covered in black velvet. He checked underneath the boxes and handed them both to me. "This one's yours," he said pointing to the one in my right hand.

I looked underneath the box and saw my name written in gold writing. I looked at him for reassurance and carefully opened the box.

A sterling and lustrous metal flower had bloomed within the dark confines of the black velvet. There was a vine like pattern with faint outlines of leaves that connected some of the vines on the bottom part of the ring. As I moved and turned the ring the iridescence of the metal would trail along the ray of light that followed it.

"John," I said bewildered. "This... it's so beautiful. There's so much detail. How did you make this?"

"It's a long process to describe but I used a lot of tools to shape them while the metal was still hot. I burned myself a few times though. The metal's made entirely of silver with stainless steel to prevent it from tarnishing."

I met his eyes and saw a look of glee inside of them and brought him tightly in my arms. "Thank you so much John. It's amazing and I'm sure Lucie will love hers too."

"Glad you love it cutie," he said bringing his own arms around me. We held one another a while longer than I was expecting but found myself not wanting to let go. What could I have ever possibly done to deserve this much love? I gripped the back of his shirt and saw my vision blurred by oncoming tears. "I love you cutie, so much."

I pulled away from him once I felt that my tears were all dried.

"Hey, Luke, what's wrong? Are you crying?" he ran a knuckle across my bottom eyelid.

"No." I said trying to hide my face.

"Aw no, please tell me you don't hate it that much," he said sounding hurt.

"Shut up, I love it," I said with a short laugh shoving his shoulder.

"I know I know, but, why the tears cutie," he asked ruffling my hair.

"I just don't know if I deserve this."

"What are you talking about?" he sounded worried.

"Why do you love me?" I asked.

He gave me a cold look, as if I put a knife in his chest. "Luke... why would you ask me something like that? I, I love you because your _you. _Your kind, selfless, caring, you never judge anyone harshly, you put everyone's feelings before yours and..." his face drifted down to the bed sheets. "You gave me your love before I even gave you mine. How could I not love you Luke?"

His eyes met mine at his last remark.

"I never knew that you felt that way."

"Well remember it," his placing his warm hand on my head. "And I know it's not just me that feels this way about you. So does Jack, and everyone else. You're a good person Luke and you deserve every ounce of love that's given to you. And if you ever doubt that again, I'll smother you with my old gym socks I still haven't washed." his face was pouted as a joke but I knew he would do it.

"Thank you John," I said resting my forehead on his chest. "I love you too."

* * *

"You sure you don't want me to drive you back?" John asked as we stood out in the drive way. The sky was now clearer with still a number of clouds still passing the sun that shone brightly.

"Yeah I'm sure. My apartment is only a mile and a half away, I could use a walk and some fresh air."

"But what if something happens to you and I'm not there to help," he said with his eyebrows slightly raised and his eye wide with worry.

"I'll be okay big brother," I laughed punching his shoulder lightly.

"Alright," he complied and drew me into his arms. "Thanks for staying the night. Hope we can do something like this again."

"I'm sure we will," I said as we pulled away. "Thanks for taking me to the movie, really enjoyed it. Did you hear that they're making the Deathly Hallows into two movies?"

"Yeah, what up with that?"

"Eh, hopefully it's still good."

I raised my right hand and fiddled with the silver ring on my middle finger. "Thank you for the ring again, it's beautiful."

"You're welcome cutie." he softly pinched my cheek. "Tell Little Luce I said hey and give her a big hug for me."

"I will." I smiled

"Se ya at school tomorrow then," he said and pulled me into another quick hug.

"Okay," I said and began my way past the driveway and into downtown.

The breeze felt nice and slightly warmer than yesterdays. There would be no rain until Thursday so I'd be warmer for a few more days, that is until I see Jack.

At the thought of him I heard my phone and saw a text message from him. _Speak of the devil._

_Jack: Hey Lucian have a good time at John's?_

My thoughts quickly went to what happened last night but tried not to worry too much. John said he would sort it out with Jack himself.

_Yeah, just left his place now._

_Jack: Sleep good?_

_Yeah very good._

_Jack: Well that's surprising he always hogs the covers and kicks me in his sleep when I stay over at his._

_Really? He slept like a bear when I was with him._

_Jack: Go figures! lmao xP_

_Haha yeah Susie made us breakfast too! :D_

_Jack: Lucky :( I miss her cinnamon pancakes._

_Yeah really good stuff ;P Hey what ever happened to "babe"?_

_Jack: Sounded too cheesy, and I like the way your name sounds when I say it._

I could feel my cheeks turning pink and my heart skipping a couple of beats. How does he always have these effects on me, even when we're just texting? My fingers were fumbling for what I was going to say next.

_So, have any plans later?_

_Jack: Nope. I get off work at 2. Why? In the mood for something? _

Now my heart began racing.

_Sure uh, how about I go to your place later?_

_Jack: Okay ;) I'll pick you up. Until then..._

I inhaled like I just resurfaced from a raging sea. I don't think I'll ever get used to being this way with Jack.

Just when I put my phone away a tall figure collided with me. I staggered back nearly falling and looked to see a bright red scarf and apologetic violet eyes.

"Daniel!" I said wrapping my arms over his shoulders in a hug.

"Oh," he said in shock. "Well hey there stranger." he returned my friendly gesture.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon." I said pulling away.

"Yeah, that makes two of us," he said giving me a short smile. "What brings you here? And, why are you wearing the same clothes from yesterday?"

"Oh, I stayed the night at a friends," I said scratching the back of my head.

"That boyfriend of yours? Kinda explains the messy hair," he said furrowing his eyebrows.

My face heated up. "No no no, it's nothing like that. It was my friend John."

"Cheating on a guy like that already? Sheesh Luke, I didn't think you were that kind of person."

"Shut up," I laughed shoving his shoulder. "You know it wasn't like that."

"Yeah yeah, just messing with you." he said in hysteria. It felt good seeing him laughing like that, assuring me that whatever it was that happened to him in the past was somehow healing.

"So, where are you headed to?" I asked once the our humor died down.

"Back to my place, I just had a late breakfast with an old friend."

"Oh, so you know people here?"

"Just a few people but he came back knowing I'd be here too."

"Well that's nice to hear," I was glad knowing that Daniel was not entirely alone in this town.

"Yeah. So, where are you going?"

"Back to my place too, Jack doesn't get off work for a couple hours and I'll be at his place."

"Oh okay, well try not to have too much fun," he grinned.

"I'll try to control myself," I said with a laugh. "Well hey, why don't we hang out for a bit. You know if we're friends we should at least get to know each other a bit more."

"Yeah," he said with a bright smile. "I'd really like that. How does my place sound? It's not in the best condition now but it's warm." he gestured to the wind which was getting a bit colder now through my sweatshirt.

"Sound's good," I said returning his smile.

* * *

"Gosh, it's much colder here than the last time I came here," Daniel said as he closed the door behind me and set his scarf on the coat rack.

"Yeah I know, hasn't been this cold for a couple of years now?" I asked rubbing my arms for warmth.

"I use to love it like that when my family was here."

"How long ago was that?" I asked.

"About ten years ago. I've nearly forgotten what it was like back then."

I immediately felt guilty for bringing up something about his past and quickly tried to change the subject. I was quickly distracted by all of the canvases of oil paintings and papers with graphite drawings that hung all along the walls of his apartment. "Oh my god," I was completely entranced by the artwork telling its story to me with each new painting and drawing. Before I knew it, I was walking along the tiled floor and losing myself in a world crafted entirely by hand.

"Yeah," Daniel said bringing my attention back to him. "I like doing this occasionally every now and then."

"If by occasionally you mean one or two every day. There's so many, and they look so life like. You can't even see the graphite or brush strokes."

"Seems you know a little bit about art, is there an artist in you I don't know about."

"Sorry to say, but I'm only good at music. I tried painting one time, but it looked like I just spilled the paint all over it by accident."

"I bet you would be good with a little practice." he smiled.

"What inspires all of this?" I asked. Most of what was on his walls were of landscapes. The one that kept my attention was of a sunset on a lake shore that darkened the color of the water and the mountains that surrounded it.

"Just when I feel something and need to get it out on paper."

"Never knew all of this was inside of you. They're beautiful, all of them."

"Thanks Luke." he said and stood beside me within the silence. "Would you like some coffee? I didn't get a chance to shower last night and don't want you to be with a smelly guy while you're here."

"Sure," I said and walked over to his kitchen and already stated his coffee brewer. "So, how long do you think you'll be staying here in town?"

"I'm not too sure," he said looking through the glass as dark liquid had begun to drip. "I was originally planning to stay here for a couple of months and then moving in with a friend in California, finish High School and just see where my life went from there."

"Are you... still planning on doing that?" I asked. The thought of Daniel leaving soon was sad thought for me. I'd just made a new friend and would have to say goodbye to them shortly.

"Well I was, but now I've had a little change of heart. Didn't know I'd meet someone who would make it worthwhile to stay." his eyes met mine.

"I'm glad I could make your stay here a pleasant one." I walked up to him and drew him into a hug. He warmly accepted my gesture and wrapped his arms tightly around me.

"I never thought I would have a friend as good as you Luke."

"Well, you deserve to have one," I settled in his warmth and could hear the soft steady beats of his heart.

"C'mon Luke," he said as we still held one another. "I probably smell like and old gym locker."

"You should meet my friend John. You smell like a rose bush compared to him once he's gotten out of gym class."

"Seems like a cool guy," he laughed as he pulled away and walk towards a hall. "Just give me ten minutes and I'll be right back to you. Help yourself to the coffee." he said with wink.

"Will do," I said and looked back to the museum of artwork before me.

I could hear the shower running and went to pour a mug that was spare on his counter. I walked back over to the artwork and saw that some of them had gotten a bit darker as I moved further away from the kitchen and into the living room.

There were images of dark forests with small outlines of ravens flying by them captured at just the right moment of a wing stroke. I stopped at a painting done entirely in a blue and black coloring. A girl with long straight black hair that stopped at her waist was in what appeared to be a black ball gown and cradled her face in her hands that were covered in lace.

I set the mug on the coffee table and looked more closely at the painting. There was something hauntingly familiar about it. It felt like looking at an old photograph but still at something entirely new in itself.

I looked at the paintings around it and saw that there were more of girls with long black hair and their bodies positioned in a way that hid their faces.

There was a girl in a layered black dress that faced away from view in a lake surrounded by fog and ran her hand in thick wavy hair that passed her waist. One of a girl in a white dress that stood atop a rocky shore where waves had crashed against the shore. Another of a girl in a dusk background wearing a thin ankle length dress holding a rose as her long hair blew in the wind, and was the only painting where part of her face was revealed.

I could feel my pupils dilate as I looked more closely at the girl's face. Something was caught under my foot as I stepped closer to the painting. I staggered back thinking it was a pile of drawings but was merely an old leather bound book. It was faced backwards and I slowly reached down to pick it up. I opened it to the last few pages and realized from the blank pages that it was a journal.

Why would Daniel have an old Journal with nothing even written in it? He probably used it as a sketch book and I turned more pages back in hopes of finding more drawing until I stumbled on one that had only writing on it. It was a Journal entry and I turned to the page before and found an entry that was made a few days ago. The writing was written in an almost cursive like formation but still clear and easy to read, it reflected Daniel very much.

I immediately wanted to close it as to not invade his personal thoughts, but then noticed the top of the journal had a few ripped out pages that were hanging an inch out. I pulled them out hoping I'd found more drawings but saw there was only writing on them as well.

I could see that they had come from it from the small gap left close along the spine, but the pages were much darker than the others and the writing was smudged. The handwriting was still the same as the entry I had seen before, but the date for which it was written on had me bewildered.

_March 21, 1992._

This couldn't possibly be Daniel's writing. If he's even as old as I am he would have been barely born around this time period. But then a thought occurred to me that it could have been a relative of his, I know that Lucie had handwriting that was alost exactly like out aunt Maria's.

The first line of the entry had caught my attention instantly. _Next time, I will have to give her up._

The words were written with such honesty and wisdom, I thought for certain it was Daniel's.

The entry began to sound a bit confusing at first but the mentioning of a name Lucinda had caught my attention. How coincidental it was that a relative of his knew someone with same name as my sister.

The writer mentioned about writing a book called _The Watchers: Myth in Medieval Europe _and that it was because of that that he found the girl named Lucinda. My heart had warmed as I thought this could be how the writer had met who could have been a lover or friend but the later parts became more bittersweet. They mentioned about not ever falling in love and that it wasn't the truth, that _the agony of one more loss will overwhelm me_.

I began to lose sight of what it was that they were saying. The words had begun to sound too much like they had come from Daniel, that these words were written by his hand.

_It's too late now, but it won't always be. I have already begun the preparations of our next encounter seventeen years down the road._

My heart heaved in pain and an image of the girl and boy from my dreams flashed before my eyes. No, why is this happening? Now of all times...

I looked up from the journal entry back to the painting of the girl holding the rose. The wan face that crept through the long flowing black hair was more apparent than before. I was stepped farther back than before but I realized more than could see that the girl holding the rose, that all of the girls in the oil paintings with long black hair were my sister, my Lucie.

"Luke, what are you doing?"

I spun around and saw Daniel in a faded dark red shirt and black jeans. His hair was still lightly damp and a hand towel was around his shoulders.

The journal entry slipped from my hands and glided slowly to his feet. "Why." I said bluntly. "Why do you have paintings of my sister. And that journal entry, why does it have your handwriting in it and a date that's nearly as old as me." I didn't realize I had been shouting.

"Your... your sister," he sounded like he was about to have a panic attack.

"My sister Lucinda!" I exclaimed.

All emotion had drained from his face. The one look in his eye that I no longer wanted to see was back where it was from the start. His cold eyes had finally looked up at me. "Get out." he demanded.

I knew there was pain in his words, but still I hesitated. "I, I..."

"GET OUT!"

I flinched and stepped back a few steps. I never thought of Daniel yelling out like that, much less what it would ever sound like. I felt warm tears coming to my eyes but I didn't feel the need to cry.

I dropped the journal and shot directly for the door without a glance back at him. I was in such a hurry to leave that I didn't close the door behind me and ran the short three doors down to my own apartment s and fumble through m pocket for my key. I didn't look over to his door to see if he was coming after me and turned the key and slammed the door behind me with all three locks on the door in place.

I was in my room before my thought of Daniel looking as he did came back to me. My heart was beating so fast that it hurt and felt like my rib cage would give at any moment. Liquid fire began pouring from my eyes as I let out the dry and hoarse sobs I still couldn't fully believe were mine to feel.

Once my room became quiet the door bell had rung. I didn't want to answer it, fearing it would be Daniel. I waited for either my mother or Lucie to do it but then realized that Lucie must have stayed over at Emily's, and that my mother must be with that guy she was meeting with for the last few weeks. It explained why the apartment was so quiet.

The door bell rang again but with three rings at once, showing that whoever was on the other side was becoming impatient. I rose to my feet and cautiously walked to the front door. The bell rang again two more times at once.

My hands wrapped around the door handle, and turned.

* * *

I deeply apologize again for the long wait. Things have been pretty piled up as of late and I don't know when I will have the next chapter up, but thank you very much to any of you who are still reading.

Until then my fellow Fallenatics!

_**The journal entry with the date March 21, 1992 is a real exert written by Lauren Kate from an exclusive poster that comes with first edition copies of Torment. I do not own the exert. All rights go to Lauren :)**_


	12. Chapter 12

Here is chapter 11!

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

Enjoy!

* * *

Eleven: Damned

A tall figure stood before me in the door way. I was met with a smile that eased any ounce of pain embedded within my soul and eyes that could guide me through any raging storm. He enfolded me in warm and secure arms enriching me with love. All the emotions flooding into my being could only be found in a place that was home.

"I missed you Lucian," he said.

Jack was just about to pull away but immediately my arms constricted around his waist with the only barrier between my skin and his being a faded green shirt. He ran his hands through my hair and kissed the top of my head.

"Jack," I said burring my face in his shirt trying to suppress any tears that threatened to fall.

My hands were tightly clenched on the fabric of his shirt and my body was shaking.

"Lucian hey, what's wrong? Hey," he gently pried me from him to look me in the eyes. It took a few seconds to look him straight in the eyes, those deep emerald gems more focused and alert. "Were you crying?" he asked, his eyes lessening in stress.

"Yeah, but it wasn't anything serious, don't worry about it."

"Luke, your eyes are practically bloodshot and swollen. It's too late but I'm already worried. What happened?"

I inhaled a slow deep breath. "I just came back from Daniel's place," I said biting back the guilt.

"Daniel from the Juice Bar?"

"Yeah." I shuddered not wanting to picture his face.

His eyes widened in fear and tightened his grip on my shoulders. "Did he... do anything to you?"

"No! No, nothing like that. He'd never hurt anyone."

He sighed. "Okay okay, sorry, you just had me a little scared there." He rest his head on my shoulder. "But, can you tell me what happened?"

"Well we bumped into each other shortly after I left John's and just wanted to get to know him a bit more. He invited me to his house and showed some of these art pieces he made, there was so many of them and he's really an amazing artist. Then he left to take a quick shower and I found an old journal I though was a sketch book but was actually a diary. Before I could even put it down I read too much of it. Jack, his past is so sad." I couldn't bring up the fact that it was written seventeen years ago. "And I think it's why he's so distant from people."

"Yeah," he muttered. "I could see that. When we first met him I just felt the urge to give the guy a hug or something. Is that why you were crying?"

"Yeah, but, he caught me reading his journal and yelled at me to get out."

"Oh Luke," he ran his hand through my hair. "I'm glad that you can understand him now but, now he might not trust you as easily as before now that you know some of his secrets."

"I know, I shouldn't have gone through his personal things and I'm ashamed of that but either way I don't want him to feel like he's alone."

"I understand Luke, and I can understand him as well. There's still things about me that I haven't told you yet."

I gripped the back of his shirt at the thought of what other pains I've not yet healed within him. I thought that the love we shared now would be the end of any past pain we felt, but the scars they left behind will always remind us how much they bled us out.

"But you're still happy though, right?" I asked timidly.

"More than I've ever been," he said wrapping his arms around me.

We kept the silence between us for a while longer.

"I should go over and check on him," I said pulling away and motioning for the door.

"No," Jack placed a hand protectively on my shoulder. "Trust me Luke, he'll need some time alone before it's safe to talk to him again."

"But I'm worried about him Jack. What he, what if he hurts himself..."

"If he opened up to you as much as I did when we first met, you shouldn't worry. I'm sure of everything you told me that he knows you care about him and wouldn't do anything to make you worry."

I sighed deeply. "Alright, I'll give him some time alone. But if I don't hear anything from him in the next week I'm marching straight to his door and breaking it down."

"Remind me not to get on your worried side," Jack said leaning in to kiss my forehead.

* * *

Tension between Daniel and I began to diminish as the next few days had passed, though he made it a determination to keep his distance from me. He had first period English with me and John and I sat directly behind him but kept Jack's advice in mind and didn't try to pry anything out of him.

It was Friday that I decided to stay after school alone to use the school music room where the only baby grand piano made of oak wood they had lay in the center of the room leveled on a small stage two steps high.

"Is there something you need to do here for a class," Jack had asked me.

"No," I said. "I just haven't had the chance to play the piano for a while and have a song that I've been thinking about writing."

"Oh, could I stay and watch you play?" he asked.

"Well, I was kind of hoping to be alone for a bit."

"Oh okay," he murmured.

"Don't worry though," I reassured. "I'm not upset about anything just really need some form of personal expression now."

"Okay," he ginned and drew me into his arms. "Be sure to give me a call or text once you get home though."

"I will," I said and stood higher to kiss him on the lips.

"I'd like to see you play the song once you've finished it," he said.

"You'll be the first to hear it," I smiled looking into the forest green of his eyes.

"Love you," he said.

"Love you too." And he walked away silently with his gym bag slung over his shoulder.

Our music teacher Ms. Yun told us freshman year that the piano was made in the early nineteenth century and that the keys were made entirely of ivory. The soundboard and strings were replaced because of how old and worn the previous ones were and the wood was re-polished.

When I raised the Fall the black and white keys were a sight behold. I had not done this in so long that it felt like the first time I had done since I was nine years old at my first lesson.

I placed a finger over a white key and played a D natural. D minor was my favorite key to play in and it was the one I worked with most when writing songs or just improvising.

My hands accompanied one another in a delicate dance all of which were accompanied by the music brought with each step they took.

I had the lyrics for the song written down weeks ago and the melody of the music was still fresh in my mind and after a few minutes I found the perfect key for it.

The song to me was about losing love but remembering the all of the good that came from it and appreciating the moments that made me feel whole, but there was still a longing for wanting it back.

My fingers began to dance as one in unison for the first few chords and latter form different patterns that altered the next few notes.

_If you would just slow down you would see_  
_ We were meant for something_  
_ Lay your armor down and stay with me _  
_ Aren't you tired of running?_  
_ Can we go back before the storm came raging?_  
_ And everything we built was gone _

My left hand remained where it was while my right ventured to the higher notes while still in the same notes with it's partner.

_So sing to me til I fall asleep_  
_ Like the way you did when you were still mine _  
_ And tell me that it's not over yet _  
_ We were never good at saying goodbyes _  
_ Why can't you see what's right in front of your eyes?_

The two reunited and played the same tune from the beginning into the next verse.

_Remember our first kiss that starry night?_  
_ It felt like we were flying_  
_ So how do we forget_  
_ That love is on our side? _  
_ Oh we never saw this coming _  
_ Can we go back before the morning took you?_  
_ And every dream of you was gone _

They separated again and would be the last time once I sang the bridge.

_And so sing to me til I fall asleep _  
_ Like the way you did when you were still mine_  
_ And tell me that it's not over yet _  
_ We were never good at saying goodbyes _  
_ Why can't you see what's right in front of your eyes?_

I sang one last note and held it at a riff before the brief rest which would then bring back the chorus and conclude the story.

_Can we go back before the storm came raging?_  
_ And everything we built was gone _  
_ So sing to me til I fall asleep _  
_ Like the way you did when you were still mine _  
_ So sing to me til I fall asleep_  
_ Like the way you did when you were still mine _  
_ And tell me that it's not over yet _  
_ We were never good at saying goodbyes _  
_ Oh we were never good at saying goodbyes  
__Why can't you see what's right in front of your eyes?_

The strings had only a few minor seconds to echo the last chord before I released my foot on the pedal. I missed the feeling of being much lighter after I played a song. It was like the part of me that I wanted to let go of was now one with the instrument.

I let my hands gently brush the ivory keys and thought of all the stories it could tell, of all the other people whose emotions, thoughts, and feelings had been poured into it.

The sound of metal hitting the floor nearly made me stagger up from the stool. A chair had fallen over and someone had rushed out of the door. As quick as they left I caught the quick glimpse of blonde hair and a red scarf and was out the music room in an instant.

"Daniel!" I called out. "Wait! Please!"

I rounded the next corner into the main corridor where Daniel stood beside the left column of lockers. I stopped in my tracks and was surprised at how much breath I lost from running.

I was just about to step closer to him when he spoke up. "How much do you know?" he accused.

"What?"

"The Journal, how much did you read from it?" he began shouting.

"Daniel... I'm sorry for what I did, I shouldn't have been looking through your personal things and I'm really sorry-"

His fist collided with a locker door. "You don't know how much danger you're in now!"

"Daniel?"

He let out a long sigh. "There's things you don't understand Luke. Important things."

"Daniel, I don't understand what you're trying to say..."

His fist fell from the locker door where there was noticeable dent in the metal and turned to face me. "Do you care about me Luke?"

"What do mean Daniel, of course I do you're my friend."

He began taking slow steps towards me. "Then you should stay away from me."

"I'm... I'm not going to leave you all alone Daniel. I might not have been through the things that you have but I know what it's like to feel like you're alone-"

"Just..." His frustration made me uneasy so I remained quiet as to not push him any further. "Please just tell me what you read from the journal," he said in a more calm voice.

"The entry with that date, March 21, 1992, I read all of just that one."

He exhaled. "Damn it."

"Daniel?" His eyes rested on mine. "Was that you're writing?"

The face he wore made it look as if he was on trial for murder. "Yes, yes it was."

My heart began convulsing in my rib cage. "Who are you... what are you?"

His face lifted into a slight grin. "I'm damned Luke. Damned to spend an eternity in pain, misery, loss, and heartbreak."

"Why?" I asked not at all disbelieving the things he was telling me.

"Because, a long long time ago I chose to give my whole heart, my love to the wrong person."

"Why would you be damned because of love?"

"When I was born, I was meant to give any ounce of love my soul carried to one being and that being alone."

My heartbeat had fell to a slow but steady beat. "Who was that person?"

His gaze fell downwards. "That _person_ goes by many names in your world, but the most common of those... is God."

I took a few involuntary steps back from him.

"Don't be afraid of me Luke," he reformed the short distance between us. "I know that this sounds crazy but I'm telling you the truth in order to protect you from the things that you are unaware of, and you know I won't ever hurt you." He reached and held my hand gently in his warm one.

"I just," I looked down to his thumb caressing my palm. "I'm not too sure how to take all of this in."

"I know Luke, but if you kept trying to dig any further into the truth in the wrong places it could've put your life at risk, even the people you love."

My heart skipped a beat. "How could this put our lives at risk?"

He made quick glances around the corridor. "There are people here who are also like me. Not exact but we come from the same place and they will kill anyone that they find that poses a threat to their secrets."

"But everything you just told me," I interjected.

"Don't worry Luke," he assured me placing his hand on my shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to you."

His violet eyes had more light in them than I had seen in the last week and was grateful that it was back. "This is still making me feel uneasy. Could we maybe discuss this somewhere more private."

"Of course," he reassured. "Would you be comfortable going to my place again?"

"Yeah that sounds good," I said. "But, I'm still very sorry that I looked through you're personal things."

"Don't worry about it Luke," he said bringing me into a warm embrace. "I'll explain everything to you."

* * *

I sat on the soft cushion of the couch giving a full view of his oil paintings.

"Here, warm coffee," he handed a mug of black coffee.

"Thanks," I said taking a long drink from it.

"That song you sang at school was beautiful," he said.

"Oh, thank you," I said fighting back a blush, all the while remembering me telling Jack that he would be the first one to hear it.

A short silence fell between us.

"Well, I guess I should continue with the explanation."

I nodded.

"I was born to serve and love only that who had given me existence," he began. "We were given everlasting life and could not leave our realm unless released by our creator or forcefully removed by the weapons they had also created."

He had my full attention, and I was drawn into his story like a child would be a fairy tale.

"So, you are immortal?" I asked when he had given a short pause.

"Yes. I am," he responded sounding more as if it were a curse than a blessing, and then continued. "Many of your kinds' viewpoints on why we were damned are quite _controversial."_

"What do you mean by that?"

"The source material in your religious works give out small fragments of the truth behind why we were exiled to this world."

"Why exactly were you exiled?"

"We chose to give our love to another being that it was not meant to be given to." He looked down into his half empty mug.

"Whom was it that you chose to love?"

He set his mug down on the coffee table and sat back against the pillows and then looked deep into my eyes. "We chose to love you," he said placing his warm hand over mine. "Mortals."

"Mortals?"

"Yes. The one thing so much of your kind does not see within itself is that your lives are only temporary. _We _will never know what a lifetime will ever feel like."

My hand turned and grasped his. The warmth within his hands would never be cold, the flesh surrounding it would never wither, his soul would always be bound to a world that never pauses. Even for an immortal life.

"We longed to know firsthand what mortality was and why our creator never granted us that. We wanted to live among you and feel the things you felt, see the things you saw. In all honesty, we wanted to be free. Free of the thing that our creator had bestowed to us as a blessing."

His hand released mine and placed a soft finger to my face and wiped away a single tear. It was then that I had realized I was weeping for him and his unfortunate ignorance to want something so many people would throw away for what he had.

"Daniel..."

"It's very uncommon for a mortal to shed tears for someone like me. Most of your kind sees me in an almost god-like manner, all the while ignoring the fact that we too have souls and that we too have desires."

I involuntarily brought a pale hand to his face and caressed it with my fingers. This person, this being, it spoke of being born in another realm that which was separate from our own, but his soul was exactly identical to ours.

"There is nothing in this world meant for an immortal, only loss."

"I'm so sorry Daniel."

He gave a weak smile and brought his hand back over mine on his face. "Why is it that you don't doubt me?"

"I can see your pain," I said. "I can feel it too. And now I know that no mortal person can tolerate pain such as yours and live. So despite all of the stories I was told as a child that were meant to be bed time stories, I believe them. I believe _you_ Daniel."

His smile grew more. "I'm grateful that you do," he said and pulled me into his arms. I instinctively wrapped my own around his waist, relishing in his everlasting warmth.

We held one another for a long while before breaking apart.

"There is still one more part to our story I haven't told you yet," he said. "There are those who were exiled to earth and there was only one who was damned with a curse. A curse that would plague them forever more." I held his gaze. "That person was me."

"_You_?"

"Yes. I was the first to fall in love with a mortal."

"What happened to the mortal that you fell in love with?"

"They were cursed along with me. For many millennium I would be reunited with them, we would fall in love, and then they would die. Many years later they would come back to me in a different form only to meet the same fate again."

"Your journal," I exclaimed. "That time in 1992, that was the last time you were reunited with them."

"Yes... it was."

I felt guilty about bringing it up but it was still vital to his story. "What was their name?" I asked.

"They were always reincarnated in the form of a woman in many places all across the world. Any place that I tried to flee to their soul always managed to find me. But this time, something is different."

"How so?"

"Their name they were given when they were born was Lucinda."

My chest heaved. "My sister? _My_ Lucie..."

"Yes. But what's different about this time is when she first saw me at Sword and Cross just a few days ago she wasn't drawn to me. In her previous lives she would always be drawn to me and was always determined to be with me even though she could not explain the feelings she did not know her soul had felt for me. I began to wonder why it was that she remained so distant from me and then it dawned on me that she was born with a twin sibling." His eye focused more on me.

"That has never happened in all the times I met her in her previous lives."

"What exactly is it about _her_ that has changed this time?" I asked.

He closed his violet eyes for a brief moment before opening them again to speak. "This time... this time she was not reborn in the body of a woman."

* * *

Cliff hanger! DX

Hope any of you don't mind that I changed some of the things from the actual book and for those of you who haven't yet read it I won't spoil what those changes are!

Until the next chapter!

**Song used in this chapter: _Till I Fall Asleep_ by _Jamie Dee_**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 12

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

Enjoy!

* * *

Twelve: Cherished

"What are saying? _Not reborn in the body of a woman?"_

"When a person is about to be born a soul will attach itself to them and once they draw their first breath of life they form a permanent connection to that body till death comes to part them. The soul of the mortal that I've loved for lifetimes beyond measure had attached itself to one of two empty vessels in this new life. That vessel was your new born body Luke. The person that I have loved and lost countless times over again is you."

My heart had cowered to the far depths of my rib cage. "_Me_?"

His violet eyes had dimmed. "I've lived for so long Luke. I get to see babies be born. I get to see them grow up. See them fall in love and have babies of their own. I get to see them die old and withered with the people they love. One thing that I'll never have, and one that neither you will have."

"Why?" my voice rose in forte.

"Because you were my first sin. You are damned for eternity alongside me."

Forever to walk on this earth. Never to grow old and die along with the people I love and find peace wherever that may be beyond death.

"No... No." I could feel my eyes heat up and burn from threatening tears.

I ran down the short hall to his front door.

"Luke!"

This time I was sure to close his door behind me. I strode down the corridor of the complex hearing the metal hinges of the door creak as it opened. I didn't hear any footsteps pursuing me but didn't slow my pace and took the three flights of stairs to the lobby instead of the elevator.

Once the cool fresh autumn air seeped into my lungs my legs began the steady pace of a casual walk throughout town. I quickly wiped away the moisture that collected in my eyelids and tried to act casually as bystanders began to pass.

I knew of only one place where I could take refuge and clear the chaos in my mind. So I made my way down to Forsyth park.

* * *

The dim sunlight crept through the pillars of the gazebo. The cold air was piercing through my clothes and my shivering limbs were already helping to clear my mind. What if everything that Daniel had told me wasn't truly real? What if it was?

It would be impossible to forget the things that he had told me in just that single conversation. But the one thing I couldn't understand more was why I reacted the way I did when he told me about his curse._ Our curse._

I felt the essence of pain that I had felt from somewhere before, but had no memory of it.

I massaged my temples and ran my hands through my hair into the scalp, prepared to rip out every strand from the frustration of wanting answers, answers that only Daniel could give me but no longer had the strength to hear them.

I knew that there was still much more for him to tell me, but I couldn't withstand to hear anymore. If I had truly lived many lives before this one, how many people did I leave behind in the past ones. Could the people that I love now have been a part of my previous life or the ones before that.

Pressure began to form in my head again and I cradled it in my hands supporting my elbows on my knees.

"Luke?"

The pressure had ceased instantly at that familiar gentle voice. I looked up into the kind and deep brown eyes of Matthew. He stood in the threshold with his hand resting on one of the pillars, his dark olive skin was a beautiful contrast to the white paint of the gazebo. His curly black hair was tied back with a few stray wisps falling from his neck and into his face.

"Matt?" I exclaimed.

"In the flesh," his warm smile welcomed me.

"When did you get back? I thought you wouldn't be here till next month."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. But I ended up finishing my studies a little bit sooner than expected, so surprise!" He raised his arms.

"Gosh, didn't think I'd miss seeing you this much."

"So what you're just gonna sit there and not welcome me back?" his eyes looked hurt.

I immediately rose and quickly wrapped my arms over his shoulders. Unlike John or Jack I didn't have to stand too high on my toes to match his height when going in for a hug.

"Aw, so you did miss me then?"

"You know I did," I interjected relishing in in his calming aura. He always smelled of mint and had such a calming presence that could eased anyone's troubled mind.

"Hm," he grunted returning my friendly gesture. "Missed your nice hugs too."

"Have you already told Em that you're back?"

"Yeah," he said pulling away. "I just got in town the other day, we went out to dinner last night, had quite a bit of catching up to do. She told me her uncle put a shot gun shell through the roof at their family reunion."

"Yeah," I laughed. "Marcus was always reckless, guess he hasn't changed. But what about you? How were things at that training medical school?"

"Oh, well, I was ranked number two in all of the students there when the final scores were put in."

"Holy crap Matt!"

"Yeah," his smile brightened. "I... ended up getting a full scholarship to Princeton." He scratched the back of his head.

"You're kidding me," I said in disbelief.

"Nope, once I've graduated I leave for university the next month."

"Wow Matt that's incredible, or should I say Dr. Velazquez."

"Hey now I've still got a ways to go from here."

"But you've made it this far already, I still think that's something amazing. Think of all the people that you'll be able to help."

"Yeah," he said taking a seat on the wooden bench. "What about you Luke, how have you been. I've already heard that you and Jack started going out, how's that been?"

"It's been really nice. I never knew that I'd be like this with Jack and, now I can't stop thinking about him half the time. Is that how you were when you and Em started being together."

"Yeah," he laughed. "And it's still that way now too. I couldn't keep her off my mind when I was away. Texting and video chatting weren't enough. I spent the whole day yesterday with her and it still wasn't enough."

"It's good to know that we might be like that for a couple more years down the road maybe even more."

His eyes looked at me more troubled. "Are you sure you're okay Luke? When I first saw you I thought you were crying or something."

"Oh no," I reassured him. "I just have some things going through my mind right now and it's a little hard for me to process them now."

"Do you... want to talk about it?"

I took a seat right beside him. "I guess it would help."

"Yeah, you know you can talk to me about anything. so let's hear it what's on your mind?"

"I guess, I'm a little scared." I paused.

"Scared? What exactly are you scared of?"

"Well, how things will turn out in the future. I mean, I've always thought that things would take their natural course in life but since being together now with Jack, nearing our end in High School, then going to college and thinking about what we'll make of our lives in the future. What ever happened to being ignorant teenagers with our whole lives ahead of us and not ever thinking about what it would hold?"

"Well, from what I've learned in just this year is that we don't entirely have control over our lives," Matthew said. "I didn't ever expect to be a doctor, all I ever wanted to do was help people. And then I started to explore the medical field and a few years later here I am now. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we could have an idea about what we want in our lives, but that idea won't exactly be _what_ we want, but more so a _guide_ to helps us get what we want."

I was amazed and moved by his words, but all the more relieved of the chaotic thoughts that plagued my mind.

"Wow, I never really thought of anything like that before. I swear that you're an old soul Matt."

"Well, I've had a lot to take in these past few years. Guess I'm a fast learner."

"No Matt, I've always seen the way that you view the world and I thought that I was the only one that saw it that way. Someone could experience the same things that you have and respond to them differently. You're a really amazing person Matt and a really good friend."

"Aw Luke, I've only been with you for a few minutes and you're gonna make me cry already," his eyes looked a bit glassy.

I wrapped an arm over his shoulder. "Well it's your fault for being such a good person."

"Guess I'm lucky for having a friend like you," he said bringing me into a full hug.

"Thank you Matt, I really needed to hear your words of wisdom again."

"Anytime Luke." He rubbed my back gently.

"Have you had the chance to see John?"

"Not yet, I was just about to head over there now and see if there's anymore of Sue's pastries."

"Well it's already late so there might not be that much left, but she always makes a fresh batch for a familiar face."

He inhaled deeply thinking of the aroma of Susan's bakery. "Man, a whole summer without any of her cakes and pies, I need to have some right now." His eyes drifted off in daydream.

"Well you'd better hurry before they're sold out or John eats all of them."

"Yeah," he laughed. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school then?"

"Definitely," I answered.

We both rose from the bench and he drew me into one last hug.

"Feel any better now?"

"Very much."

"Good," he smiled. "So are you off to anywhere after this?"

"I don't know, I was thinking of calling Jack later and seeing if wanted to hang out for a bit."

"Okay, you two kids be safe."

I laughed and lightly punched his shoulder. "It was really nice seeing you again Matt, and I'm glad you're finally here to stay."

"Thanks Luke." He smiled. "Well, I'm off to get me some freshly baked goods."

"I'll see you around." I waved goodbye as he walked away into town.

* * *

I closed the apartment door behind me welcomed by smell of cooking meat and spice.

"Hi mijo," my mother said smiling over the stove her straight dark hair falling over her shoulder. "Just in time for dinner, I'm making Carne Asada."

My stomach growled. That was always my most favorite dish my mom made.

She told me that it was my great-grandmother Juanita's recipe that she made when she opened her first restaurant in Mexico before coming here to America. I always thought about the family that she left behind but my grandmother told me that she wanted to make a better life for her own family and that's why she came here. She died just last year at the age of eighty-four.

The TV was on in the living room and showed PBS.

"Is Lucie here or is she spending the night at Em's again?"

"No honey, she's here." She was smiling while turning the large slabs of meat in the pan with the salsa and spice ready in two bowls with beans and rice.

I walked up to her and gave her big hug. "I love you mom."

"Aw sweetie, I love you too," she said setting down the meat fork and hugged me back. "Dinner will be ready in just a bit, why don't you go get Lucie so we can all eat."

"Okay mom." I smiled and headed for Lucie's room down the hall.

Her door was open and she was on her bed sitting comfortably against the pillows reading her copy of _If I Stay _by Gayle Forman.

"Dinner's almost ready," I said leaning against the door frame.

"Be there in a minute," she said with that look in her eye she always had when reading a book she loved.

"You've read that thing a million times Lucie."

"I just love this story so much," she laughed. "She tries to find reasons to move on and die but can only find reasons to stay and live."

"You know I like it too."

"Of course, that's why I got your copy signed too. You should've been then Luke, Gayle was so sweet and nice, even though we only saw and spoke to her for like ten seconds."

"Sorry I couldn't make it, and I know that you love the story more than I do. I still think _The Lovely Bones _is better though."

She laughed. "I know Luke, and I still remember that time you nearly broke down when I got you that signed first edition last year for our birthday."

"And that's why you're the best sister in the world," I said sitting on the bed right next to her. "Lucie?"

"Yes." Her eyes left the pages drawn by the lower tone in my voice.

The things that Daniel told me still crept into my mind. _One thing that I'll never have, and one that neither you will have._

"You know that I love you right?"

"Luke." She set the book down and turned to face me. "Of course I know that. What's wrong, where is this coming from?"

"I just, don't think that I ever tell you that very often."

"Luke," she said placing her hand over mine. "You do tell me that, at least three times every day and even if you didn't tell me that often I would still know it. You're my brother Luke. You always looked after me when we were little. You held my hand when I was nervous on our first day of kindergarten. You let me sleep in your room with you every night I had a nightmare when we were kids. You held me every night when I cried after dad died." Tears were forming in her eyes. "So don't you ever think for a second that I don't know that you love me."

She drew into a tight embrace and buried her face in my neck. "My Lucie," I whispered wrapping my arms protectively around her and gently stroked her long black waves.

We held each other a long while before our mom called us.

"Luke! Lucie! Dinner's getting cold."

We pulled apart laughing with one another while wiping away our tears and once we made sure we didn't look like we were crying went into the kitchen to eat.

I texted Jack asking if I could come over to his place.

_Jack: Sure, hey why don't you stay the night here. My mom's staying over at Mike's for tonight and Saturday so I'll have the place to myself till Sunday. That sound good? ;)  
_

All tension seemed to have gone down to my groin. _Oh the joys of adolescence._

"Hey mom is it alright if I spend the night at Jack's?"

"Oh, sure honey, as long as it's okay with Mary."

"She said it's fine," I said smiling, leaving out the part that we'd be the only one's in the house for the entire night.

* * *

I pushed Jack onto his bed straddling him and crashed my lips to his. It felt like I hadn't seen him in years and with each movement ignited another spark within my body, threatening a fire to start that would never be extinguished.

His hands ran through my hair and drifted down to my lower back as I held onto his shoulders, gripping his own soft hair in my hands. He moaned into my mouth as I sucked on his tongue and then took his bottom lip between my teeth and gently tugged on it while I ground my hips.

We were both panting when we finally pulled apart to catch our breath.

"Holy shit Luke," he gasped. "When you said you wanted hang out I didn't have this in mind."

"Well I missed you," I responded out of breath smiling at his astonishment.

"Could you miss me some more then?" He raised an eyebrow.

_Good damn that's hot. _And I went back and caught his lips again. He pulled me as he laid down on his bed and rolled over so that he was on top. I wrapped my legs around his waist pulling him more into me while still keeping my rhythm against his crotch and could feel his pressure more apparent against mine.

My hands cam up against his chest and felt the heat that radiated off of him and massaged his pectoral muscles. I moved my right hand lower, passing his abdomen down to the hem of his jeans and held the firmness of his erection.

His moaning deepened sounding more like a hungered growl. I tightened my grip around him feeling the pressure increase and then he suddenly pulled away.

"What's wrong?"

"Something's telling me that we should stop," he hesitated. "But part of me _really _doesn't want to."

I laughed at him with a smile. "Still want to try and 'take things slow'?" I asked running my free hand through his hair.

"You, are making this really hard for me Luke," he said with a stern look.

I slowly began to stroke my other hand back and forth and traced the lobe of his ear with the tip of my tongue. "_And_ quite firm too," I whispered.

He let out a slow breath and every tense muscle in his body relaxed as he slouched into my neck. "I love you Lucian, and I want to make sure that you're okay with this. Are you sure that you want this?" He pulled back looking into my eyes.

I released him and placed my hand on his warm face. His stubble had grown in and I rubbed my thumb against his cheek. "I love you too Jackson, so very much. And I want this, more than I've ever wanted anything. I want _you_."

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me up to him holding my lips to his in a gentle kiss. With my reassurance I slowly rose up and pulled my shirt over my head followed by my jeans. I was left bare in only my briefs and reached for Jack's button and fly then pulled off his blue jeans and tossed them from the bed. I sat in front of him on the bed and gripped the neckline of his shirt and pulled it off over him, his body just as exposed as mine with only a thin layer fabric left on our bodies.

He was beautiful. I couldn't remember the last time that I looked at him with nothing covering the top half of his body. The muscles in his chest and arms were more apparent than in the past. He wasn't 'buff' but still had the nice toned body of an athlete. I ran a hand over his chest feeling the rough texture of hair that covered it.

His own hands began to wander over my own exposed body that was smooth and practically hairless compared to his, with only small thin patches that grew on my legs. I was always self conscious about being a guy and having practically no body hair, but Jack told me that it didn't matter to him because he loved me just the way I was.

I leaned in and placed soft kisses on his cheek and trailed down to his neck. I placed my hands on his broad shoulders and motioned for him to lay back against the pillows.

Once he was fully relaxed my lips wandered down to his left nipple and slowly stroked my tongue around the sensitive area. He raised his arms placing them behind his head and moaned. I looked up to see his eyes struggling to stay open from the pleasure, his biceps were bulging over his shoulders exposing the thick tufts of his armpit hair that strengthened his spicy masculine scent. I moved to the other nipple and nourished it in the same manner but then began making sucking motions with my lips.

A deep groan escaped his lips and his chest heaved reacting to my lips like they had burned him. He placed both his hands on my chest pushing me back slightly and caught my lips in his. His tongue trailed over my lips and teeth as he turned over so that he was now on top of me.

"You're sure that you want this, Lucian. We don't have to go any further if you are uncomfortable."

I gripped the back of his hair pulling his warm body closer to me. "I want you Jackson. _All _of you."

He embraced me fully whispering words of love into my ear that were drowned out from the ringing in my head, the part of me that wanted ever moment of this to be eternal.

Our briefs had joined the pile of clothes by the bed side and were entirely exposed to one another.

He held me gently in his arms and slowly pushed his way into me. The pain had subsided once I relaxed the muscles below my waist and the he began moving forming a rhythm that matched my heart beat. My legs wrapped tightly around his waist pulling him closer to me and urging to fasten his pace.

He massaged the back of my head while he whispered my name into my ear.

"Lucian, Lucian." His voice began to drift away.

The heat was rising in me and I nearly dug my nails into his skin as I was now even past my limit. With one last thrust forward he released his warmth into me making muffled sounds as I felt him pulse.

We pulled apart but were now forever connected with a love that I wished with every fiber of my being could transcend time itself.

He pulled the bed sheets over our bodies and brought me closer to him so that our hearts were only a hairline apart.

"I love you so much Lucian. Always, and forever."

I shut my eyes tightly closed refusing to let one teardrop escape and clung to him with my last giving strength. My fears and worries faded to black by the comforting sound of his heart beat. I would lie in this moment with the one that I loved more than my own life for as long as I could and cherish it as if it were my very last.

* * *

I've had this ending scene in my head for a long time now. I just couldn't deepen Luke and Jack's relationship with hugs and kisses and wanted to give them a moment to express their love for each other as passionately as I saw right for them.

Well for those of you who still enjoyed this chapter you have my full gratitude. And a special thanks to the favorites, follows and reviews from you guys!

Until then! :)


	14. Chapter 14

LONG TIME NO SEE!

Whew, a lot has happened in the last few of months. Well for starters I am in college now! I'll be majoring in English because I really enjoy reading and writing-as I'm sure most of you can tell-and would like to make a carrier out of something like that.

It's so crazy to see that this story is already two years old! I still have every intention of finishing it because I have come so far into writing it.

I'm currently in the process of writing a new novel and I'll keep you posted on it when it is done!

My deepest apologies for not updating so long. :(

Any who, hope you enjoy!

**I DO NOT OWN FALLEN!**

* * *

Thirteen: Wonder

Fractured rays of light pierced through a small crevice in the curtains and shone directly over my eye lids. I shifted higher above Jack's bare chest to avoid the light's glare and settled back in his warmth, cradled by the steady rhythm of his chest rising and falling with each breath.

I moved slightly back so that the first thing I would see was him. Could it be humanly possible for someone to be so beautiful. If his body had remained motionless it would have appeared to have been carved out of stone that had matched perfectly tanned olive skin.

I placed my hand over his chest and pressed lightly down. His heartbeat with mine would have been the perfectly melody to dance with on a formal occasion.

Still captivated by his warmth that I was now losing I nestled back in to him and twirled the hairs on his chest, only to cause him to stir and wake to full consciousness.

He gave a long stretch turning to face me and bringing me closer with his arm.

His thumb trailed the shape of my jaw with a well rested look on his face and for a long while we simply help each others eyes. I never noticed that there were small specks of gold and amber around the outer rim of his iris. Would I ever find more new things about him if we stayed like this?

"Morning," he muttered.

"Morning."

"Did you sleep good?"

"Yeah. The best I've ever had I think."

"That's good to hear," he said.

"Last night..."

His hand ran through my hair. "Was the best thing I could have ever have asked for. I'm very glad my first time experiencing that was with you Lucian."

"As am I," I said burring my face in his neck. "I don't ever want to leave this moment with you. I wish I could stay like this forever. I wish I could stay with _you _forever."

He massaged the back of my head. "Who says that you can't Luke?"

"Because Jack, for all we know this could be the last experience we have with one another, or maybe even the last time we _see_ each other. We never know how long we have together, and that's what I'm afraid of."

A low exhale escaped his lips. "I guess that is true. But even so, we've only been this close to a very short time compared to how long I've known you. But I still love you as much as I did then, and I know you loved me as much as you could despite not feeling what I had for you then. If I die today Lucian Price, I'll gladly go to wherever I have to next, because one hour of the love you've now given me can keep my spirit afloat until the sea of death runs dry."

I pulled back and placed a hand over his face, feeling the abrasiveness of his stubble and looked deep into his eyes. I never really noticed the small specks of gold and amber that scattered the outer rim of his iris. "What could I have possibly done to deserve someone like you Jack?"

He smiled back at me and placed his larger hand over mine. "I think I should be asking that question."

We stayed close to each other and basked in the silence, appreciating the warmth and presence of one another. His hand running along my skin and mine on his. Time it had seem was no more in that brief moment.

There was a part of me that had felt somewhat complete. As if the emotions I was now feeling were what I had always wanted to feel but was never granted the chance to because something had always prevented it.

I immediately built a wall in the back of mind around that ominous thought and looked back up to Jack's eyes. Even if this were the last day we would ever spend with each other no one could take the experience we had last night away, even this single moment.

I leaned forward and placed my lips gently over his warm ones and held them.

* * *

Warm water slowly trailed down my back to the white floor. Hunger had eventually driven both of us out of bed, that and the need for a shower. Jack was right behind me, lathering himself in soap. Once he had finished with whole front of his body I had helped with his back slowing down as my hands ran over the muscles that formed ridges along his upper back.

Once all the soap had washed away with the falling water I wrapped my arms over his soaked body and drew him into a passionate kiss. It was strange how natural it was being with him like this, given that this was the first time we showered together. I felt his hands wandering all over my body as he drew us closer together, the water making his stokes against my skin more smooth and slick.

When our lips had parted we stayed holding one another basking in the water that continued to fall around us.

"I'd love to stay like this longer," Jack finally spoke. "But I'm afraid we'd waste a lot of water."

"Yeah, we should get out now so I can enjoy you fully clothed again. Who knows, we might need another shower later."

He raised an eyebrow while grunting a laugh.

I turned the glass knob and the water flow had ceased. The cold air now free to rob the warmth that the water gave us. A towel had immediately been thrown over my body followed by gentle strokes that took away some of the cold. Once the top half of my body was mostly dry I turn with the towel in hand and began drying Jack's.

The water had left his skin more lustrous and the hairs on his chest falling downwards and were both soft to the touch once they were dry. I marveled again at his bronze skin. It was a trait that he received from his South Asian heritage that he very rarely brought up, but was the one thing I admired most about him; apart from his eyes. I had always longed to have skin that flourished in color such as this. It was as rich as freshly made caramel, the tip of my tongue had ached just to caress it's surface. Instead I raised my pale hand and placed it on his shoulder wandering down his chest with his hairs following my touch.

"Beautiful."

His larger one came to rest on my cheek. "Clearly you haven't seen yourself in a mirror," he said.

"I'd much rather keep my eyes on you."

He smiled at me and leaned down to kissed my forehead. "C'mon," he said. "Let's get dressed."

* * *

We sat comfortably on the couch in the warmth of his living room while watching the next few episodes of 6teen he had recorded. My head rested right against his chest and kept track of the rhythm of his heart beat and breaths.

I reached forward and took hold of his hand. "Remember when we first started watching this?"

"Yeah," he grunted. "The summer break before freshman year. We thought it was the coolest thing on TV since Teen Titans, and couldn't wait to be sixteen ourselves and do things on our own."

"Was being sixteen as great as you thought it was?"

"Well... not really." We both laughed aloud to his remark.

My mind had wandered and began focusing less on the screen and more on our entwined hands. "Nothing's changed."

"Huh?" he turned to face me.

"I just, I thought that things would be really different between the two of us now that we're together like this. I mean here we are now just together as we used to be when last night we..."

He raised an eyebrow with a smirk causing my face to heat up.

"You know what I mean," I exclaimed as he muttered a laugh.

"Well Luke, in some way things have changed," he said.

"How?" I asked.

He reached for my hand and placed it over his chest. His heart was beating almost a fast as mine was. "You do this to me almost every time I touch or kiss you. I try to repress it as much as I can but sometimes it just won't listen to me."

It amazed me to think that I was the one making him lose this much control over his body and a relief to think I was not the only one that fell prey to our intimacy.

"It's nice to know how much control I have over you," I began making small strokes across his chest and upper abdomen.

"Better watch yourself, there's no telling how much control I'll have before the big bad wolf inside me get's loose."

I leaned in closer to his neck. "If that was control you had last night I'd really like to see what that big bad wolf has in stock for me." And trailed my tongue on the lobe of his ear.

"You're really asking for it Lucian." I could hear a tremble in his voice.

"Huh, alright," I complied and rested my head back on his chest.

I heard him groan in disappointment but still pulled me closer to him. Once the last episode of 6teen had ended Jack had flipped to regular playing channels but stopped once the trailer for The Lovely Bones movie had started playing on a different channel.

"Gosh, I can't wait to see this."

"Think it'll be as good as the book?"

"Of course it won't," I laughed. "But I've been waiting years for something like this to come out for it. And it's directed by Peter Jackson, the genius behind Lord of the Rings."

"Well at least we know it's in good hands."

"Yeah."

Once the trailer was over he switched to a channel that was playing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. "Now this takes me back."

"I remember reading the series twice in one year before the Deathly Hallows came out."

"Yeah, I was there with you, you were already on the Half Blood Prince when I was still on the Goblet of Fire."

I grunted. "And we camped out for the Deathly Hallows the day before it came out."

"Gosh," he sulked. "Has it already been two years."

"I guess it has been."

"Who knew that in just a couple years from then that we would be together like this?"

"If I did, I would have been with you sooner."

He shifted and turned to face me. "Would you?"

"Of course I would. I love you Jack, as much as I loved you back then."

He leaned forward and kissed me then rested his forehead against mine. "I would have accepted you without a moment's thought."

I turned away slightly.

"Luke? What's wrong?"

"Do you ever wonder what the future will hold for us now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe after high school I would just get a college degree and become an English teacher with a hobby for music. You know, just start doing something that would make me happy."

"Yeah?"

"But, I don't know, things just seem so...out of place right now. I remember being a kid and thinking that I had my whole life ahead of me and now I don't even know what I would want to do with my life in the next few years."

"Luke, you are still a kid," he grunted. "Geeze what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" His hand ran through my hair.

"I just hope I can have a really happy future, with all of you," I said looking back at him.

"Your future is whatever you make it to be, Luke. If you want a happy future, then go after one." He smiled.

I trailed my hand up his shoulder and to the nape of his neck. "I can see now that I already have one."

* * *

So sorry that this chapter is a little short, but I'm really caught up with assignments from school and hardly have free time to spare for writing.

I'm grateful to those of you who are still reading and hope you read through to the very end.

Farwell for now Fallenatics! 3


End file.
